Broken ninjas
by Tessy3
Summary: "Never fight unless you can win", said Grandpa. But when Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum face an enemy from Grandpa s past, everything changes. Unsure they will be able to win this time, they re forced to search help from another old enemy: Hugo Snyder.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A fight you never lose**

"Don´t start, Colt".

"I´m not starting anything, Rocky. I´m just finishing it".

Rocky grabbed his sibling´s shoulder as an attempt to contain his anger. Colt shook him off. He had never understood why someone would try to pick him on a fight. Certainly, none of the guys who were cornering him in that hall knew about his training or the victories he´d achieved in the past, yet, they could not possibly believe he would be an easy prey, not after stopping all those lame bullies since elementary school, or even before that, he couldn´t remember.

Rocky stepped between Colt and the three guys from the football team: Jordan, a tall and athletic blond and also the leader of the group, smirked at them.

"What´s up, Douglass? Little brother can´t stand for himself?

The other two laughed like they´d never heard something that hilarious. Colt didn´t know their names and didn´t have too. They looked like those trolls in the movies: big feet, huge arms, big noses and the stupid grin on their faces. He tried to get rid of Rocky but his older brother pushed him back. Damn, he was strong! And, for the strength he had used, he was nervous, too.

"Just let it be, Jordan": Rocky spoke with a calmed voice that didn´t match his gaze. Colt knew him very well. When he pierced you with those blue eyes, hardly blinking… you were in trouble.

"No".

Jordan slapped him with his open palm. Even when he didn´t hit him that hard, Rocky´s right cheek turned red. Colt´s heart raced, his blood boiled while he heard an "Ooooh!" from the crowd that surrounded them. It was always the same, no matter how many times it happened or who were the ones involved in the fight, people just loved to watch a nice beating. "Bet I will find this in Youtube", he thought.

Colt stepped forward and was received by his brother´s palm on the chest. Rocky breathed in and spoke again. "I´m serious, Jordan, let it go".

"Or what?"

Jordan pushed him back, throwing him against Colt, who catched his older brother. Someone laughed in the crowd and several voices yelled: "What are you waiting for? Hit them!" Whether they were cheering them or the bullies, Colt couldn´t tell but he also didn´t care. We was sick of those idiots. He clenched his fists and pushed Rocky aside. Or tried to. His brother wasn´t named Rocky for nothing. He didn´t move an inch. Instead, he grabbed Colt´s forearm and kept him captive.

"What the…? Get off me!" Colt struggled but wasn´t able to get free. His arm was growing numb. Rocky was angry but was obviously messing with the wrong guy!

"Colt! Control yourself!"

Great. Just what he needed. People laughed louder. They were clearly enjoying the show: Douglass brothers fighting each other in front of those three morons! But what probably made Colt feel angrier was the fact he couldn´t free himself from Rocky!

"I promise if you don´t leave me alone…"

But Colt´s words got lost after McKenzie´s whistle nearly broke their eardrums. Students split in a second, leaving the Douglass brothers and the trolls all by themselves. McKenzie was their football coach, an old football star who decided to train young men after been expelled from college, for bad behavior according to gossip. He was not exactly the type of professor who cared about weak students getting abused during his class, but the kind of adult who would argue "they need to grow like true men". However, a girl wearing a pink jacket and white jeans followed him with funny quick steps. A girl whose long, light brown hair Colt knew very well.

"Thank you, Emily, I´ll take it from here". Professor said. "Jordan, Steven… you all, to my office, right away!"

"Where they´ll surely get a hug and a bunch of candy with steroids", Colt thought.

Bullies walked away after giving Colt a mocking smile.

"Put some ice on that cheek, Douglass". Jordan blinked at him before leaving.

As usual, McKenzie pretended not to hear what he said.

"What happened here, boys?"

Colt opened his mouth but Rocky spoke first.

"They were trying to start a fight, sir".

Colt rolled his eyes, like it wasn´t obvious. McKenzie knew it quite well, they were his golden boys, he was just trying to earn some time or to search for an excuse not to punish them.

"Why were they trying to fight with you?"

"Because they´re…!"

"I don´t know, sir".

Colt clenched his teeth with frustration. He wasn´t a bloody five year old! And Rocky was definitely not an adult even if he tried to act like one! Jeez! He was seventeen, just one year older than him! Why did he always act like a younger version of Grandpa? He was not! Even Grandpa had kicked a few butts, for god´s sake! Rocky was acting more like a priest and treating him like some sort of mental patient or something. Anyway, he had to deal with the fact his older brother was better with words so he let him talk. He´d make him know what he thought about it later, when they were alone.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No, sir". Rocky answered quickly. At least he kept some dignity, and for the way he said it, he was still mad.

"They wished they could", Colt thought. He´d teach them not to fight unless you can win.

"Yeah, well then… don´t worry, I´ll deal with them. Call me if you need anything, right?"

McKenzie patted Rocky on the shoulder and showed Colt a fatherly smile that almost made him puke. Emily also patted him on the back, she had been the one who had alerted the professor as soon as she heard about the fight. She was out of breath, because of the run.

"Are you really ok?" She stared at Rocky, searching for bruises and cuts, and apparently relieved not to find any.

"Of course I am! It´s not like they are real opponents, you know?" Rocky smiled.

Colt rolled his eyes. His brother and Emily liked each other from as long he could remember and yet he had never been together as they obviously wanted to be. And somehow, his mellow, shy smile made him feel even angrier. Without any control of his body, he threw Rocky against the lockers, who landed with a metallic thud. Emily cried, startled.

"What´s wrong with you?" Rocky gasped.

"What´s wrong with me?" Colt pulled him by the collar of his shirt. "I´m tired of you getting in my business!"

"And what did you expect me to do? They´re not opponent for us, Colt! Beating the crap out of them would be not fair!"

Colt punched the nearest locker with his fist.

Instinctively, Emily stepped behind Rocky.

"It´s ok, Emily", Rocky sighed.

"Listen to your boyfriend, Emily" Colt replied.

Rocky sighed again. It was not the first time Colt tried to pick on him whenever he hadn´t released his anger.

"How dare you treat me like some sort of… we must have looked so ridiculous!" Colt paced back and forth, with his typical scowl.

Rocky watched him silently after nodding to Emily, who left them alone. He knew his brother needed some time out. He didn´t blame him at all, he would have loved to teach those bullies a lesson, but he was too aware of his responsibilities as a compromised ninja; using your power with someone weaker than yourself was not very honorable. Nevertheless, bullies always messed with Colt. He wasn´t sure why, not even Tum Tum had to deal with them. His younger sibling was not what you´d call a popular guy but he had close friends, like him. From the three of them, Colt was the one who received an invitation to a party almost every week although sometimes he decided to be by his own. He was not exactly a loner but he definitely needed some space every once in a while. Maybe considering he was the easiest to provoke…

"Rocky!"

"Yes?"

"Are you even listening?"

He wasn´t, lost in thought, but he nodded anyway. His brother seemed less angry, even there was some guilt in his gaze.

"They don´t worth it, do they?"

"No, they don´t".

Colt raised his backpack from the floor.

"I guess we missed our last class, big bro".

"Well, let´s not waste our chance to get an ice cream".

Colt looked at him, his mouth opened in disbelief.

"What are you, ten?"

"No, I´m seventeen and you´re sixteen, and i´m absolutely not taking you for a beer".

Colt laughed.

"I don´t even drink beer, man, i´m a sporty guy! I thought we could get some pizza. I´m starving!"

"Well, I could handle that".

Rocky kept his books in his locker.

"Hey, Rock…'"

"Yes?"

Rocky looked at Colt. He had gotten serious.

"Do you realize there´s no one around who can even match us in a fight? That means we´ll have to deal with bullies the rest of our high-school-life".

"Well, you have me. Although I wouldn´t beat my little brother, not very hard anyway".

"You wish", Colt tried to punch him in one arm but Rocky dodged quickly.

They left the school without noticing the man who watched them from the parking lot, an unpleasant smile on his face.

Blood thirsty.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: A threat from the past**

"Everyone´s fine, dad, boys are upstairs… pretending to do homework, I guess".

Jessica Douglas took a sip of her coffee while he talked to his father, Mori Tanaka, on the phone. She had a cell phone but she preferred the one she had used since she got married with Sam, an FBI agent. She could hear music from the boys´room, surely from Tum Tum´s videogame.

"Dad… is there a problem or something?" she had to ask. His father called everyday but not thrice a day. Specially not when the boys were at home. When they trained with him, during summer, he called twice to keep Sam, his son-in-law, calmed. But now, he suddenly seemed impatient to hear from them every three hours or so.

"Nothing, nothing. I´m just getting old, honey. And an old man misses his descendants".

"You… you wanna talk to them?"

"No, thanks, it´s too late".

Jessica laughed. "Dad, they´re teenagers, they sleep really late, trust me".

"Right. Anyway I´ll better call tomorrow. Nice dreams, sweetheart". He hung up.

Jessica stayed with the phone still in her ear, listening to the tone without paying attention. She knew his father lied, something did happen. He knew him too well. She decided to ask the boys. Maybe they´d gotten in trouble again and his father wouldn´t want to tell her. He loved his grandsons, not only because of their family bond but also as his pupils. Jessica had never felt attracted to martial arts but she respected and admired his father for what he was. A true ninja was a humble, strong-willed, honorable man. It was more than just a couple of punches and kicks, it was a life philosophy. His father tried to teach her but she never wanted to learn, however, she still remembered the ninja´s principles. If only Sam could understand. He hadn´t spoken his thoughts out loud since ninjitsu had helped his sons to take care of themselves when the kidnap, five years ago, but he didn´t agree with what he thought was a dangerous obsession.

"You knew Snyder", he said once. "He was a good man, Jess, at least that´s what your father used to say. But he got power lusted and chose the wrong path. And was a hard opponent to beat. I wouldn´t be able to fight him, one on one, you know? He´s just so dangerous".

But her kids weren´t like that. They were brave and kind. After all, they always helped people in trouble, without hesitation. Well, maybe Colt should hesitate a little more but Rocky was a great leader, just like her dad. She smiled while listening to the rumble inside the boys´ room. She knew that red lamp very well, a movement sensor. Then, she knocked a couple of times.

"Come in", she recognized Tum Tum´s muffled voice. He must had some candy within his mouth.

"Hi, boys", she stepped into their room.

They found the three of them on the floor. Tum Tum sitting in front of his Xbox, Rocky and Colt suspiciously quiet. By the way they were breathing, they must had been wrestling.

"What´s up, Mom?", Rocky asked.

"Grandpa just called me, he wanted to say hi". She looked for any gesture that showed guilt on their faces. She didn´t find any.

"Oh, that´s nice. How is he doing?" Rocky replied.

"Well… he´s doing fine, a little nostalgic, I guess. He´s called thrice today".

"Maybe Grandpa needs a new girlfriend", Colt smiled.

"Don't be disrespectful, Colt". Jessica reprimanded him.

"What did I say?" Colt talked back.

"Anyway, I was wondering… is there something you wanna tell me?" Jessica showed them her best mom-look.

"Yes"

"No"

The three boys answered at the same time, and looked each other in surprise. Jessica raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"Nothing" Colt looked at Rocky, challenging him to talk about today´s almost-fight. He didn´t.

"Tum Tum?" She glanced at her younger son.

Tum Tum moved uncomfortable.

"Well… I was the one who took Grandpa´s cookies. I´m sorry, mom".

"Wait, what?" Colt asked.

"The ones that he hid under his bed… I wasn´t spying, I just discovered them by accident! And I thought a man of his age… I just took a couple of them…"

"Tum" Rocky rolled his eyes.

"They were chocolate, Rocky!"

"Nobody cares about those bloody cookies, mor…!"

"Say _that_ word and you´ll be grounded for months, Colt", Jessica snapped.

Colt shut his mouth, climbed to his bunk bed and turned around, offended. Jessica wished them good night and went to her room. Maybe she was been paranoid. Perhaps her father just missed them, like he said. Besides, she was nervous because of the fact her husband hadn´t returned from that journey. He called her everyday so he was alright, but his job was so dangerous she often feared he wouldn´t call her back. No, she wouldn´t follow those thoughts, she wouldn´t go that way. She wouldn´t feel unsafe and unsecure inside her own house. A home that was once broken, his kids taken away… she turned the lights on. She wouldn´t sleep in the dark, not tonight.

Mori Tanaka stayed awake, cleaning the dust from his old sword. Shaped by the hand of old masters, it kept its blade sharp and shiny. He thought he might be seeing ghosts from his past but he was sure he wouldn´t be able to sleep unless he practiced his moves with this old katana. Although training kept him healthy and agile, he didn´t deny his strength and his reflexes were not the same. Not like his boys, who became better every summer. He felt suddenly uneasy: he had focused so much in their strengths, he had forgotten to focus on their weaknesses too. In their name ceremony, he had not mentioned any of that. A ninja should be aware about his own limitations. Lately, the boys seemed to be invincible, they had even managed to beat a lot of adults´butts. For God´s sake! He couldn´t have thought in _those_ words. He shook his head, embarrassed, he was becoming too American.

He looked at the letter he had received that morning. Or, to be more specific, he had found inside his cabin; someone had slid it through his doorframe. It was written on a piece of parchment, with black brushed-strokes, in Japanese. "Time to pay back", it´s what the kanjis meant. And it ended with the drawing of a death dragon. Mori felt he grew older every minute of that day. It couldn´t be true. He was supposed to be death. It had to be some sort of follower, an amateur ninja searching for a chance to be recognized… because if it turned out to be the one he thought he was, no one in his family would be safe.

Jessica Douglas woke up startled. She grabbed the alarm, wondering if it was time to get up. It wasn´t. It was 3 a.m., according to the green neon numbers of the clock. It took her a few seconds to realize she was hearing her cell phone. Fighting to blink the fog away, she tried to identify the number on the screen. She answered with a hoarse voice before she missed that call.

"Yes?"

"Mrs. Douglas?" Said a female voice.

"Yes. Who is this?" She felt her heart throbbing inside her chest. No one called that early unless it was urgent. And urgent used to mean bad news.

"This is Dr. Sanders from Regis General Hospital".

Jessica sat on the bed, her hands shaked so bad she tought she wouldn´t be able to hold the phone anymore.

"Mrs. Douglas, are you still there?"

"What happened?" She asked louder than she intended.

"I´m sorry to tell you this, Mrs. Douglas, but your husband has been admitted a few hours ago. He… he was hurt".

"Oh, my god, no please, no". Jessica covered her mouth, trying to suffocate her moaning. "Is he…?"

"He´s been stabilized, Mrs., we´ll just keep him in observation".

Jessica breathed in relief. So he was not in danger, he was ok, he was coming back.

"Mrs. Douglas…"

"Yes?"

"I´m aware of his… occupation. Police officers are already investigating this case but it´s important that someone from the family comes to the hospital as soon as possible and stay with him. He´s still delicate, lost a lot of blood".

"I´ll take the first flight".

"Thank you, Madam".

"Was he… was he shot?"

The doctor didn´t answer quite fast.

"Doctor…?"

"Sanders. No, he wasn´t shot, Madam".

"What happened then?"

"He was hurt by a… a weapon that looks like a star. I´m sorry, I don´t know how to name it".

But Jessica did. She knew those weapons like the palm of her hand. She froze. It was a ninja star.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Bad news**

Jessica got up really early that morning. Despite the hour, she had called Mori right away. Only he could help her with her turbulent emotions. Even when he didn´t share with her his suspicions, he accepted to take care of the kids as long as she was out. Neither he told her that he had already planned a visit anyway. Not that he was glad that his son in law (who he loved more than he thought) was injured but at least he had an excuse to keep an eye on the boys. Although Jessica omitted the part of him being attacked by a ninja weapon, his father knew it without asking. Sam was a skilled agent, even Snyder had troubles to erase him from the map. Grandpa knew his fears were justified. It would take some hours to get to his daughter´s house soon but he´d leave his cabin as soon as possible.

So Jessica packed a light bag and prepared some breakfast for the kids. Tum Tum was the first one to break into the kitchen.

"Mom! I´m starving so bad!" He took a mouthful of Lucky Charms, barely looking at her.

"You can´t be serious!" Colt yelled from upstairs. He paced back and forth like a storm in the dessert. He went down as a tornado, searching in every drawer and every corner he found. "Where the hell is my backpack?"

"Seriously, Colt, how can you possibly lose something this big?" Rocky appeared behind him with his red backpack in one hand and a raised eyebrow.

"I didn´t lose it, dumbo! I just didn´t find it!" Colt hung it from one shoulder. "Where was it, anyway?"

"You left it on the shower!" Rocky slapped him gently on his forehead. Colt tried to slap him back but Rocky ducked and took a toast from the table.

"Good morning, mom" He said. "Mom?"

The three boys froze where they stood. Even when Jessica was dressed in an elegant blue suit, her eyes were watery and swollen. Colt approached carefully. He may be a dirmwit from time to time but he was also very protective when it came to family. Specially with her mom, who had always been there for him. He rested his hand on her shoulder and spoke fondly.

"What is it, mom?"

Jessica wiped her eyes before letting another tear out. Tum Tum stopped eating, maybe for the first time of his life.

"It´s nothing. It´s okay now. Your father was injured last night…"

"What?" The three boys yelled at once, color draining from their face.

"But he´s okay. He´s just in observation", she said with more confidence that she actually felt. "I found out around 3 a.m. I´ll take a flight in a couple of hours".

"We´ll go with you". Rocky left his backpack on the floor.

"No. It´s better if I go by myself. FBI´s working on the case so…"

"Wait. Are you telling the person who did this is still out there? And, more over, is a case for the FBI?" Colt´s gaze hardened just as his fists. He was scared, and he hated that feeling.

"Yes". Jessica confirmed yet she didn´t share the details. "I don´t know how long I´m staying there. So I need you, I really need you to behave".

She gave Colt a look. He would have fought back if he hadn´t been so worried. Tum Tum was totally silent. Jessica stirred his black hair, tenderly.

"It´s alright, baby. Daddy´s fine. I just got scared when I picked up the phone this morning but the doctor told me not to be worried so he must be doing well. He´s not an easy one to get rid off. Trust me, he can be very stubborn".

"And now I won´t let him forget it whenever he gets mad at me", Colt smiled. So did Jessica.

"Yeah, and maybe he´ll spank you in return", Rocky added.

Colt tossed him a Lucky Charm, Rocky catched it with his mouth opened.

"Well…" Jessica sighed. "I guess you´ll be fine a few hours by yourself".

"A few… Mom! You´ve not hired a Nanny, have you?" Colt jumped, skeptic. "Remember what happened last time? We were the ones who had to look after the nanny!"

"Not exactly, Colt. See, Grandpa will babysit you for free".

The three of them shared an excited look, clouded by some regret. They shouldn´t be celebrating while their father was lying on a hospital bed. Nevertheless, they all agreed in the fact that Grandpa made them feel like… well, like themselves. It was hard to train without him bossing around, at least keeping the same discipline. And the training changed each summer. Maybe he´d train them while he stayed home. Also, it wasn´t easy to share anything about ninja philosophy with their parents or anyone besides themselves. Mom would always encourage them, of course, and Dad would growl and ask them to take it easy. But it was even worse with friends: the three ninjas were not exactly showing their moves to everyone but even Rocky had been involved in a fight, or an attempt of a fight to be more precise. So their friends have witnessed their ability to finish it before it actually started. None of the ninjas had been able to convince them it was not a freaking karate kid movie. Or that there shouldn´t be too confident about it.

But truth to be told, they hadn´t met a decent rival… maybe in a lifetime. There was Snyder (who almost kills Grandpa) and that huge guy they _lighted up his eyes_ (in order to get rid of him they had to fight together). Not Snyder´s ninjas, not the clowns who kidnapped Jo´s father… well, there was Miyo, of course. Although she didn´t need to punch Rocky to get a clean knock out. Would she be the reason Emily and Rocky had never really been together? Colt wondered, maybe his older brother hadn´t chosen yet. He didn´t have those problems, of course. He´d always liked the same girl… He blushed, suddenly afraid his brothers could read his mind.

Jessica kissed them good bye and grabbed her keys. "Stay out of trouble" were her last words before leaving to the airport. "They´ll be alright", she told to herself, "they have been before, even if they´re too young".

"Hey, guys".

"What? Rocky, we´re gotta be late!"

Colt argued but something in his sibling´s face took him to a halt. He didn´t really care about punctuality that much, he just felt more anxious than he was willing to accept. Tum Tum was packing some jelly beans in his pockets ("What? You can eat them discreetly in class!").

"What is it, Rock´?" He asked.

"Didn´t you think mom was hiding something?" Rocky looked at them with piercing blue eyes. He is serious, Colt thought.

"Something like what?" he asked.

"Think about it: dad gets injured, FBI keeps investigating, she asks Grandpa to come around. Come on, guys! Think! Grandpa! From everyone in this world, she choses Grandpa!"

"Rocky, she was obviously not herself. Dad is injured, we don´t know if he could have… look, we´re all nervous, alright? We need to chill out before jumping into any conclusion".

"I think I agree with Colt, Rock´. I just think she is worried something will happen to us too. We´ve been kidnapped before, remember? Not to mention we´re not like other kids. Maybe she´s not thinking about us throwing a party but us messing with some international killer".

"I don´t know, I just thought…"

Colt patted him on the back.

"You wanna know your first mission, bro? To take your two baby brothers to school in time".

"Let´s get out of here".

Rocky grabbed his cap, closed the kitchen door and tried to focus on his regular activities. Yet, nothing helped to ease the knot he felt on his stomach, the unmistakable feeling of danger.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: A fight you can´t win**

Colt wanted to chill out. He really did. He wanted to enjoy the day like there were no morons around. He tried to act like Rocky (something he would never confess!) and walk through the hallway, deaf to the insults and provocations from the guys who were begging for a nice kick in the shin. Well, he failed. It happened on the field. He was sitting on the stairs with Kevin: a brunette, skinny teenager and also his best friend since seventh grade. They were both eating a chicken sandwich from the cafeteria and drinking some orange juice. Colt told him about his father, he couldn´t keep silent any longer, he was too damn worried.

"He´ll be alright, man". Kevin said after swallowing a mouthful of bread.

"I know. Thanks… what?"

Colt caught his friend´s gaze with the corner of his eye.

"Nothing I was just… well, nothing ever happens to me, man. Not like that".

"So you´re sad because your father is not laying on a hospital bed, shot or something".

"That´s not what I meant". Kevin knew Colt and he was aware of his bad mood today. He didn´t blame him. His friend loved and admired his father very much even when they argued almost every night. Mr. Douglas was quite serious about everything; Colt was rebellious about everything (definitely not the best combination) except for that ninja stuff. When he talked about Grandpa or his training, his face changed. He seemed more focused, peaceful… something quite curious considering ninjitsu was a martial art. Kevin had never seen his friend in a fight. Not a real one. Colt always managed to finish them with barely one fist. He was so strong! Kevin began practicing ninjitsu on a gym a few blocks away but he quit. Karate was not for him. He was a musician, or pretended to be. He knew how to play the guitar. Colt wasn´t bad at that either. But again, Douglas brothers were good at everything.

"I know you didn´t. I´m sorry, Kev, today I don´t feel like myself", Colt said.

"No hard feelings, man". Kevin pushed him slightly. "And don´t think of getting that back because you´re way much stronger than me and it wouldn´t be fair!"

Colt laughed. He really appreciated Kevin. He was the only _no-ninja _who seemed to understand him. Colt had stood up for him when a group of bullies (he didn´t even remember their names, all of them were so alike) tried to kick his ass. It took him about five seconds to control de situation and a detention on his very first day. Damn it, he was punished because he was the only one who was not on the floor, whining. When he finally left school, he found Kevin sitting on a bench, waiting for him. His parents took Colt home and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Douglas for his son´s intervention. That night Mr. Douglas speech was lighter than usual. Yet, he lectured him anyway.

"I´m not saying you shouldn´t have helped that kid, Jeffrey…"

"It´s Colt!"

"Watch your tone, Jef… Colt. It´s good to help people but it´s wrong not to moderate your strength".

"They didn´t even get bruised, for God´s sake!"

"They couldn´t stand up by themselves, Je… Colt".

"They were acting out!" Colt stood up, gesturing with both hands. "I hit them once, dad!"

"In the jaw, in the stomach and in the groin!"

"Alright, for the record, I didn´t mean to kick that assho… _kid_ in the groin. If he hadn´t jumped…"

"Why don´t you try to breathe and call a teacher, just like…"

"Rocky?" Colt practically spit his brother´s name. "Because I´m not him, Dad. And you better clone him if you want another perfect son like him! And it´s not like he´s never kicked some…"

"Colt!"

"I´m sorry, alright?"

Sixteen year old Colt squeezed his juiced, spilling the orange liquid over the reverse of his hand.

"What is it, bro?"

"Nothing, just… an old memory. I´m serious, Kev. How can my dad lecture me about fighting the bad guys when he does the same. He´s a federal agent! Isn´t it illogical?"

Kevin took a sip of his juice, not sure how to explain himself. Mr. Douglas was not that easy on Colt but his mate had a very dangerous temper. He was kind and basically like every comic superhero he knew about, but he was like fire. Bright and explosive.

"Well, look what just happened to him, Colt. Hey, don´t give me that look! You´re damn scary...! Anyway, imagine how he´d feel if he lost you".

"Yeah, I get an idea", he replied. "But, it´s not like I can´t take care of myself and, even when my life has not been very normal so far, it´s not like I run into a serial killer everyday".

"But you don´t think, Colt… wait! I don´t mean you _can´t_ think, it´s just that you don´t. Well, that didn´t sound as I expected. The fact is when you´re angry or scared (yeah, you do get scared too) or nervous or excited about something…about something, not about someone! Jeez, you´re so defensive today! Anyway, you lose your temper so fast, it may get dangerous. Not only for your enemies. It´s like paramedics, imagine they find someone who´s been hit by a car, lying on the road and they run to help him…"

"What else could they do? That person could be death the next minute."

"Wrong! Paramedics have to watch and wait first, they shall look at both sides of the street before crossing it. Otherwise they´ll turn into the next victim, you know?".

"So your whole point is…?"

"You´d ran right away and probably be hit by a bus".

Look both sides of the road. That´s what Rocky would do, Colt thought. Maybe Tum Tum too. But it wasn´t like he was _that_ reckless neither. The art of fighting was not to throw punches and kicks at random, you had to watch and look for an opportunity to hit without been hit, to concentrate on your surrounding and use it like a part of your own body. He felt so frustrated, so misunderstood! But he never said it out loud, afraid of sounding like a regular teenager. Thanks heaven for a friend like Kev! He didn´t laugh or looked at him in disbelief when he told him about his adventures… or about Jo. He wrote to her quite often. Wrote like an old gentleman, with pen and paper. She didn´t love technology, she was more traditional. So they were probably the only teenagers all over America who still used the mailbox. He remembered one day when Tum Tum tried to sing a "Colt loves Jo" song. Colt was grounded an entire month for hitting his little brother.

It´s not like he had fallen for her or anything, she was just a very close friend.

"You okay? You´re blushing".

"It´s the sun".

Kevin raised an eyebrow, day was pretty cloudy. Suddenly, a football ball landed on Kevin´s shoulder.

"Ouch!"

"Hey! Watch it!" Colt yelled to Jordan and his trolls, who were laughing below.

"I´m sorry, did the bad ball hurt you? You wanna call McKenzie?" Jordan yelled with his best baby-voice. "Give us the ball back, if you know how to throw it, of course".

Trolls laughed. Colt stood up.

"Why don´t you come and get it?"

"Ooooooh!" Football team chorused, they were gathering to support their captain.

"Don´t mind about it, Colt, I don´t care about them".

"Good for you. I do care".

Kevin looked around, searching for the only dirty blond teenager who knew how to manage with his friend in this wild facet. Desperation grew inside his stomach. No signs of Rocky.

"I´m serious, Colt. You´re just upset about your father… they don´t worth it. You´ll get into so much trouble".

Colt turned to face Kevin. "I´ll just give them their ball back".

"Yeah, right", Kevin thought. He knew that spark in his eyes, he was determined and he wouldn´t let them get away with it. Colt descended the steps, grabbing the ball with one hand; the other one kept in his white sweatshirt pocket, wind playing with his light brown hair. For a random observer, it was about a couple of teenagers who could even play together. Newsflash: none of the young circling the area ignored what this was really about. Colt searched for Rocky while he approached the trolls gang, he wouldn´t appreciate been interrupted this time. He was sick of them, of their stupid smirks and their jerky attitudes. They were not even creative when it came to bug someone! Instead of finding Rocky, who would probably be at the cafeteria glancing Emily, he met the gaze of flirty girls who obviously wanted to enjoy the show… and cheer whoever won.

Colt walked right towards the captain, who kept a relaxed stance. None of his henchmen blocked his way. They looked at him like a piece of fresh meat walking by itself to the wolf´s throat. Colt met Jordan´s gaze. Jordan was taller and wider than him but it was not a matter of size, it had never been.

"You must be very brave or very stupid to do that", Jordan stepped closer.

"And you must watch every single action movie to memorize phrases like that". Colt stepped closer, too. His heart raced, his blood rushed, burning with adrenaline. He tried to focus on his breathing, to clear his head for a change.

"Alright, Jordan, I´ll say it really slowly so you and everyone around can understand". Colt saw several cell phones with the corner of his eye, eager to record the show. "You must think it´s cool to mess with someone weaker than you. Sorry to wake you up, buddy, but that´s pitiful not cool".

He heard a roar from the crowd.

"More over…" Colt continued, "I am definitely not weaker than you".

Jordan stretched his arm, trying to push him. Colt stepped back before he even touched him. His heart hammered harder, his limbs felt tense, ready to battle. He smiled, nevertheless. He started throwing and catching the ball in front of Jordan´s eyes.

"The thing is, Jordan, I´m going to give you an advice, not that you deserve it, but i´ll do it anyway. Never fight unless you can win. And when it comes to me, you can´t win".

Colt wasn´t surprised when he felt someone crouching behind his knees. He even let Jordan pushed him. Crowd yelled in excitement when, instead of tripping and falling, the middle ninja simply completed a somersault and landed on his feet. He continued throwing and catching the ball. Troll number one, stood up with his mouth wide opened, like a monkey.

"Bet you didn´t expect that, uh?" In a fast movement, Colt punched Jordan´s comrade´s belly with the ball. He doubled over trying to catch his breath. Colt couldn´t help feeling excited with the viewer´s reaction. He was hitting a great show. "Sorry ´bout that, I thought you played football, right? Supposed you knew how to receive a pass. Oh, look, I still have the ball on my hands. Here you are, boys. Now, play nice".

Colt threw the ball to Jordan who caught it with a gasp. Colt turned around, knowing it wasn´t over. Truth to be told, he didn´t feel like stopping right now.

"Hey!" Jordan yelled and strolled to narrow the distance between them. Colt stopped and turned around again. "Where do you think you´re going, Douglas? We´re not over with you".

Colt sighed. That guy really wanted him to kick his ass. Well then…

"Jordan, even an ape like you should realize there´s nothing to fight for. I told you, you can´t win. Not here, not now, not with me or anyone I like. You know? I really wished you could walk away from the brainless sporty man stereotype".

Three guys from the football team circled around Colt. He didn´t move.

"You are going to fall, Douglas, not even your mother will be able to recognize you after that".

"Let´s see, four against one… wow, such a brave army!" he made his knuckles sound, "it will take me about ten seconds to get rid of you".

"You shouldn´t have said that."

"You´re right. There will be like five seconds".

"Colt, stop!"

Colt turned to see Rocky running from behind the crowd. Party pooper! Despite their bravery, the three football players seemed relieved to find an excuse to postpone (forever) this fight. They had been really impressed with that tanned, slender boy and certainly did not want to make a clown of themselves in public. However, Jordan didn´t move an inch, except for his chest. He was breathing really fast. Colt was quite upset, too, and didn´t mean to look like his older brother had a leash on him to drag him away. Not this time. He estimated he had two minutes before his brother arrived so he decided to try something different. He opened his arms and relaxed his stance.

"Alright, Jordan, let´s do it your way. Hit me"

"What?" Jordan seemed less confident than usual.

"Hit me. And ask your mom to pay you a therapist for that anger, and get a life that does not include torturing guys who can´t stand for themselves. And learn ballet, if you want".

Jordan seemed disoriented. He obviously didn´t expect this reaction from anyone he had bullied before.

"Colt! Step back!" Rocky was having trouble to go through the crowd.

"So? Are you gotta take your hit or no?"

"What´s the catch, you moron?"

"No catch. I´m giving you what you want, that´s all. Fighting with you it´s getting boring and your hit won´t provoke me anything but tickles", he added with a lopsided smile.

Jordan swung a fist behind his ear. "As you wish".

"Just one condition", Jordan stopped, "chose either the chest or the stomach. Not the face, please, I don´t want to walk with a black eye or dealing with a bloody nose. It´s not very cool".

"Colt!"

"Scream all you want, Rocky, what´s done it´s done" Colt thought.

Jordan threw a powerful fist right to his nose. Colt stopped it with an open palm. Everybody around went silent, even Rocky. Colt moved his head from side to side. He pressed Jordan´s fist so hard the bully flinched and moaned.

"See? That´s my whole point. I knew you would try to punch me on the face because that´s what assholes like you do: try to show some power. Well, guess what? I´ve dealt with real criminal, not clowns like you, and I´ve come out victorious".

Jordan was sweating and moaning so bad, Rocky began pushing people aside, making his way through to reach his out of control brother.

"Let him go, Colt!" he pulled his brother by his shirt. Colt shook him away and pressed Jordan´s hand harder. Jordan cried. "I´m serious, Colt!"

"I´m serious, too!" Colt pushed Jordan, who rolled on the floor. "Get out of my business!"

Jordan stood up. "You´re lucky your brother´s here, Douglas".

Colt faced him, his chin raised. "No, _you´re_ lucky my brother´s here. Now, go away!"

"This is not over". Jordan and his crew fled.

People pretended to chat in small groups just to delay their withdrawal. Colt walked to the crowd feeling angrier than before. He barely looked at the girls who blowed him some kisses and guys´ thumbs up. Kevin followed him and Rocky to the parking lot, although he made sure to keep as far as possible from the Douglas brothers. Rocky raced and put a hand on his brother´s shoulder. Colt turned around aggressively, he tried to reach his brother with one fist but Rocky blocked it with his forearm.

"Whoa! What the hell…?"

Colt tried to punch him on the chest repeatedly, Rock grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind his back. He also got him by the elbow. Colt growled in pain and frustration.

"Colt! Calm down!"

He couldn´t. He was furious. With Jordan for being an asshole, with himself for being so easy to provoke. With Rocky for immobilizing him with his hold. How could be so damn strong?

"Please, Colt, give it up!" Rocky was panting, yet he didn´t loosen his grip. Not until Colt raised his free hand to submit, panting too.

"I´m cool. I´m cool, Rock, let me go!"

Rocky released him. Kevin approached. Both brothers were flushing, sweating and fighting to catch their breathe. Colt turned around and walked to the street.

"Colt!"

"See you at home." He raised his hand and waved without looking back.

Kevin raised Colt´s backpack from the floor.

"I´ll go with him. See you later". Kevin gave Rocky a shy smile.

Rocky smiled back, unable to answer. He didn´t blame Colt, Jordan was an imbecile, yet he had to learn how to control himself. He was showing off… like himself years ago in that basketball game, he thought with some guilt. However, unlike Colt, he seemed more aware of his own strength. Colt was stronger than he imagined. He could get too wild, and would easily injured that guy; physical activities helped his brother to regain control. Maybe it was time to practice some ninjitsu when he got home, considering his brother´s physical condition, it would take a while to get him tired. Rocky decided to get back to his last two classes but, before entering to the building, he stopped. Something caught his attention; something subtle, a glimpse of something that didn´t belong to that landscape. He turned around but didn´t find anything out of place. He might be nervous too. He continued his way and got lost a few minutes later.

Kevin walked beside Colt in silence. His friend was still upset and he was not eager to provoke his anger. He noticed Colt took a different way than usual, turning and turning around like a lost tourist.

"Good show, by the way" he said after a while, "I bet you´ll find a dozen of numbers inside your locker tomorrow, Casanova Douglas".

Colt laughed. Still, he seemed distracted.

"Listen, Kevin…"

"Yeah?"

"I think we´ve been followed".

"What?"

"Don´t do that! Don´t turn around. Use the windows, watch the objects reflected on them. Do you see someone you know?".

"Not really", Kevin´s hands began to shake.

"It´s ok, Kev, relax. Don´t alert them".

"Do you think Jordan…?"

"No. Jordan might be a jerk but he´s not that silly. He wouldn´t search a confrontation today, not after what happened. Besides, he´s not that quiet".

That´s what Colt didn´t understand. He knew someone was tailing him, somehow he could sense it. But he hadn´t been able to spot anyone so, either he was getting insane or this was a professional. If only his brothers were here… he realized he wasn´t used to fighting without them around. Even when they did their thing in different scenarios, he could always count on them. "Control yourself, Colt, it´s not like you can´t take care of your own", he thought. He decided to turn into a death end alley and face his follower.

"Listen, Kev, I´m going to get into that alley. You keep walking, see you tomorrow, right?"

"Are you out of your mind? I stay with you!"

"Kev…"

"Look, don´t misunderstand me. I´m not trying to be noble or brave, it´s just that if there is someone following us and the easiest prey, that means me, separates from the savage one…"

"I see your point. You may be right. Well, follow me then".

Both teenagers entered to the alley, which was empty except for a couple of bins. They had bricked walls in both sides and iron bars blocking their way. Colt asked his mate to keep his back against the bars so no one could surprise him. Meanwhile, he stepped in the middle of the alley and waited. Not even a minute later, four silhouettes appeared. Two came by the same way he had followed, and the remaining two fell from each side, both had been waiting on the top of the walls. Kevin yelled in surprise but not Colt, even when he couldn´t believe his eyes. He was facing four ninjas dressed in black clothes, a red mask on their faces. Not a dragon mask or a Japanese design but a plain red one, with slits for the eyes. They also wore a red circle over the heart. "Just when I was afraid of becoming a regular teenager", Colt thought. Kevin took his phone and started dialing a number. One of the ninjas moved.

"Drop it, Kev". Colt commanded, his friend left it on the floor and raised both hands.

"Look…" Colt said in a steady tone, turning to look at each one of the unknown ninjas. "I don´t know who you are and I don´t really care. But I´m pretty sure we haven´t met before. Trust me, I´d remember such a ridiculous custom".

One of the ninjas stepped forward. Colt separated his legs, instinctively searching for a defensive stance. The other ninjas kept their positions like they were statues, or those British guards with weird hats.

"At least may know your name? I´ll love to know whose butt I just kicked" Colt raised his arms, fists tightened. He breathed in, he didn´t know why but he didn´t feel as confident as usual, even when he pretended to. "Hey, Kevin…"

Kevin cried something that sounded like: "Yes!"

"You better stay back".

The ninja who was waiting at Colt´s left threw him a powerful kick. He caught Colt out of ward, since he had been focused on the one who had lost his stance, but the middle ninja had good reflexes and he was able to block it with both forearms. Barely a second later, another ninja (the one he had been watching all along) jumped and threw him four fists Colt managed to dodge. Colt kicked him on the knee and used his fist to hit the first one on the jaw.

Then it happened.

He caught something silver at his right and raised his hand to stop it. A sharp pain grew from his palm to every single nerve in his right arm. He watched the edges of a ninja star sticking out and a river of blood dripping out of his hand. Shocked and hurt, and specially caught off guard, he saw an explosion of bright lights when a terribly hard kick crashed with his ribs, expulsing the air of his lungs and making him fall. Before collapsing with the pavement, he managed to get impulse with his left hand and jump back from his aggressors who had become a red and black blur. Colt heard a gasp of pain coming out of his throat when he was able to take the ninja star out of his flesh and dropped it with a metallic thud and stained with his crimson blood. He gathered all his will not to fall even when he felt his legs trembling, he couldn´t breathe and he was getting dizzy. The ninjas gathered into a line, waiting for him. Even when he couldn´t see their faces he knew they were smiling, tasting his suffering.

"Kevin…" he said with a hoarse voice, barely higher than a whisper.

"Are you ok, man?" Kevin voice quivered.

"Kev… I need you to get out of here".

"I can´t!"

"I´ll keep them busy".

"You´re not talking serious…"

"Please, Kevin!" Colt gasped when he stood up straight, pressing his ribs. "I can´t win this fight".

And with a loud "Hiya!" he ran towards them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Broken ninjas**

Kevin had never been a sporty guy. When that Douglas boy with such a curious nickname stood for him on his very first day, he felt awestruck. But when Colt had lunch with him the day after that, he instantly became his most loyal friend. He couldn´t understand how a guy like him could be so cool with guys like… well, like himself. Even when he didn´t seem quite aware of it, Colt was popular among girls, ridiculously talented for sports and pretty smart, too, even when his grades were lower than his siblings´, it wasn´t because of his capacity but because he didn´t like doing homework. He might be a little cocky sometimes but he was still humble and generous, even with his moody personality. And despite the premise that nobody´s perfect, he trusted his mate like he´ll trust a Marvel hero, or a Japanese anime ninja. He remember how hard Colt laughed when they were at the theater watching GI JOE and Kevin told him he fought like Snake eyes or like that bad ninja in a white suit.

"So, you´re basically saying that if I fail in everything else I can always be a stunt double, is that right?"

"A stunt double? Man, you have the looks and that rock and roll attitude, you could be the damn main actor!"

"You must love me so much but nah, I don´t think acting´s my stuff".

"Ha! Like you didn´t act out every other Tuesday"

"Hey! I don´t act out… that often. Anyway, what is this all about?"

"If you ever consider an acting career, I wanna be your manager".

Colt laughed. "Deal".

Therefore, watching his buddy cornered by those freaking assassins felt like all his hopes had been beaten out of his body. He was afraid for Colt, since all of the bad ninjas were focused on him. Colt had asked him to run but his legs were glued to the pavement. All he could do was to watch.

His friend had run towards his attackers with an unbelievable speed, he ducked to avoid a round kick to his head and used his impulse to glide under a ninja´s opened legs. As soon as he passed them by, he stood up with a somersault and got to kick one of them on one ear, stunning him. Then he used his both forearms to block a front kick to his chin and howled when the foot made contact with his bleeding hand. Another ninja made him fall by kicking his knee but Colt rolled aside barely eluding both oponent´s kicks. A third ninja threw him another silver star which he managed to dodge but couldn´t stop a punch to his left cheek nor another to his already injured ribs. He fell on four legs and was received by a kick on his belly that literally made him fly backwards. He landed heavily on the ground not letting himself another gasp of pain but neither being able to regain his stance as fast as usual. "I won´t lose conscience", he thought, blinking to dissipate the black spots that blurred his vision, fighting for the air that his lungs rejected. He felt disoriented and his guts ached, for a moment, he thought he was going to throw up.

"Please stay there, don´t get up, Colt, please" Kevin mumbled and yelled in frustration when his friend stood up and spread his legs on a defense stance. He wiped his eyes, unable to control his tears. He had to get some help, he had to. But at the same time he didn´t want to leave Colt there. Panic clouded his senses.

When Colt faced his opponents again, Kevin realized he had never seen him on a real fight; there was just no match for him among school bullies. He had never used more than one hit to stop a fight, now he was fighting fiercely. Even his gaze was different, he used lethal combinations that Kevin could barely followed. He was so fast! And he was fighting for his life.

He used the walls to gain impulse and jump higher, landing over two of the black ninjas. Yet, he was outnumbered and, whereas a ninja retreated to catch his breath, another one took his place immediately. Colt clearly knew how to endure a hit (another guy would have been knock out already), problem was he was taking too many. By the way he grabbed his ribs and protected his right hand, his injuries were worse than they appear. Kevin made a choice so, when the battle continued, he ran with all his might to the exit of the alley and kept running back to school. He had to tell Rocky, a cop, anyone! Ninjas didn´t try to stop him. As he had promised, Colt was keeping them quite busy. If he lowered his guard…

"Finally", Colt thought when he saw Kevin running through the corner of his eye. He bounced against the wall, propelled by a kick to his chest he managed to soften with his forearms. Something cracked in his back, his arms throbbed painfully, soon, he wouldn´t be able to use them to block any more hits. Also, his punches and kicks were less powerful than before, he was exhausted and didn´t feel well. "I need to get out of here", he said to himself. "Preferably not on a pallet".

He dodged a fist to his nose but got pinned to the wall when another ninja grabbed his neck and lifted him until his feet stopped feeling the ground. Then he punched him repeatedly in the stomach with such strength, Colt´s muscles contracted violently. Like a rag doll, he had lost all of his energy and felt unable to move a finger, he could just stay there enjoying the beating of his life. After what felt like ages, the ninja lowered him without loosening the grip of his neck.

"What is it, kid?" he spoke with a deep voice, muffled behind the mask, "Too proud to cry?"

"Please, it tickles", he smiled and lifted his chin. He was not going to beg.

He felt a searing pain on his cheek. The ninja had slapped him like a spoiled brat.

"Didn´t your Grandfather teach you some respect?"

Colt´s blood froze, what did Grandpa had to do with this? Who were these guys? He closed his eyes when the ninja raised his fist. Then, he heard a metallic thud, a growl and he found himself falling, the ninja had dropped him. He opened his eyes and manage to stay on his feet, leaning against the wall. The ninja was lying on the floor, a baseball ball next to his body. He had been hit by it on the nape.

"Come on, Colt!"

His burden lifted a little when he recognized that voice, coming from the blond teenager waiting for him at the end of the alley: Rocky. Colt gathered all his will and his remaining energy and ran, ran without even looking at the other three ninjas, ran till his muscles burned. Rocky kept throwing balls with a baseball bat to keep the ninjas at bay. It only worked for a minute but that was all they needed. Colt jumped and got in the car through the opened window in the back. Rocky sat on the driver´s seat and drove. Kevin was sitting next to him, on the passenger´s seat. No one said a word until they reached Douglas home, once they were sure no one had followed them.

Colt finally closed his eyes and fell into darkness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Conclusions**

"Huh!" Colt flinched when Rocky pressed a cotton full of antiseptic against a cut on his shoulder.

"Sorry. I have to make it good or you´ll get an infection".

Rock breathed in, his hands were shaking. Tum Tum was standing on the bathroom´s threshold, twisting his hands and asking Colt if he wanted an aspirin every five minutes. He even said he knew where his Dad kept the whisky, in case he needed something stronger for the pain.

"I´m fine, Tum" Colt smiled.

"No, you´re not", Rocky thought. He had a broken lip, still bleeding, a swollen eye, a collection of black and crimson bruises on his cheek, his neck and his torso, deep cuts all over his body, specially his right hand, now bandaged. Also, by the way he was sitting, hunched and skewed, the pain on his ribs had not remained a bit, the flesh of his knuckles was completely raw. Truth to be told, Rocky was impressed of his brother´s endurance. He had managed to fight those ninjas by himself. He hadn´t given up and here he was: cleaning his wounds without complaining or whining or making a big deal out of it. Maybe that´s what worried Rocky the most. Watching him covered in blood had been unreal, his glance right now… he was broken. They all were.

"Hey, Tum". Rocky called.

"Yeah!" Tum Tum approached with a couple of strides, he obviously needed to do something. "You know that bottle of whisky you told us about? Bring it, please".

"Right away!" He left the room immediately.

"Is it for me or for you?" Colt raised an eyebrow.

"It´s for the three of us: for Tum Tum to keep him busy, he´s on the verge of becoming hysterical; for me because I´d never seen so much blood coming out of your body and for you because we´re about to clean that hand".

"Oh, boy".

"Remove the bandage, please".

Colt let out a gasp of pain and flinched when his brother touched his skin. Rocky swore under his breath. He placed his brother´s hand over the sink and cleaned it. Colt howled when the antiseptic burned him.

"Be strong, Colt!" They heard Tum Tum´s voice through the distance.

Colt smiled but went serious again when he met his older brother´s gaze. "Just…Colt, we should get you to a hospital to check on your hand and… Damn it!" Rocky hit the wall with his fist, startling Colt.

"Hey! Who are you and what did you did to my brother? Rocky! Stop it!"

Rocky leaned his forehead against the wall. Its cold surface felt good against his warm flesh. His ears throbbed. "I should´ve been there, Colt!" Rocky was panting, his cheeks flushed with wrath. "How could they…? Four against one… bloody cowards!" Rocky tossed a Band-Aid to the floor.

"Hey!" Colt patted his brother on the back. "Easy, Hulk! I´m fine, Rocky. I´m still alive… sounds quite dramatic but I swear I thought …when I was hit by the star…" he kept silence and swallow to ease his dry throat.

"Look, Colt, I´m sorry. It´s just…"

"Trust me, I know how you feel. Besides, you don´t have to tell me to be afraid… I´m already there". His lower lip trembled, he looked deadly pale.

Rocky sat on the floor, his back leaned against the wall. "You know? Even when we were younger we never got anything besides a couple of bruises".

"Yeah, hitting a jaw hurts like hitting a wall. We´ve kicked so many thick-headed!"

Rocky laughed but went serious right away. "They were no match for us, Colt. Despite the fact they were adults and we were outnumbered… who the hell were these ninjas?" He practically spit the last word.

Colt´s heart raced. He hated it, he hated the sense of fear and the knot on his stomach. "Whoever they were they obviously didn´t play were totally focused on… torture. They enjoyed my pain, Rocky".

"Bastards!" Rocky breathed out. "Alright, let´s put it together. Let´s assume they´re professional murderers, why in the world would they come for you?"

"Us. I have the feeling they found me first and took their chance, but it could have been you or Tum Tum" He didn´t even want to think about it. "It´s not like we don´t have enemies, Rock´. We´ve sent people to jail!"

"Yeah but that´s my point: they still are in jail! So who…?"

"They mentioned Grandpa".

Rocky looked at him with his blue eyes wide opened. "What? When?"

"They told me something about him showing me some respect". Colt´s blood boiled when he remembered it. Even his cheek seemed to burn again. Suddenly, he felt worn out. Maybe analgesic was finally making effect. It was such a luck neither mom or dad were home when he arrived! He would have hated them to see him like this, with his white sweatshirt torn and bloodstained, so damn beaten up! Then something lighted up in his brain. "Dad!"

"What about him?"

"Don´t you think it´s too much coincidence? Dad gets hospitalized and then I am attacked, not even a day has passed. Then one of those morons mentions Grandpa".

"When you put it that way… but if these ninjas know Grandpa then it means it´s personal, like some sort of vengeance." Rocky shook his head. "What I really wonder is what does Grandpa have to do with them?"

"Why don´t we ask him directly?" Tum Tum appeared with a bottle of whisky in one hand, two crystal glasses in the other and his mouth full of jellybeans. "He´s parking outside".

As their sensei, Grandpa could be very severe. However, neither of the boys had seen him that angry. He knew something had happened as soon as Tum Tum opened the door. He entered without a word and looked for the other kids. He found Rocky and Colt still on the bathroom. Instead of screaming or crying or making them a thousand questions, his expression hardened and he got back to his car. He took his old sword and went to the backyard. He spent the next couple of hours panting, sweating and stabbing the air like he´d do with a real enemy. Colt had put a black undershirt on, the only piece of cloth that didn´t stick on his wounds that much. He was watching Grandpa from the window of his bedroom on the second floor, along with Tum Tum and Rocky.

"Shouldn´t we go and talk to him?" Tum Tum asked.

"No yet" Rocky said.

Colt stared in silence.

"What is it, Colt?" Rocky asked.

"What?"

"You being this silent… definitely not a good sign".

"Oh, shut up!" Colt slapped the back of his head and growled in pain.

Rocky laughed. "I wouldn´t move that much if I were you. That´ll hurt tomorrow"

"It already hurts now!"

"You know?" Tum Tum said. "I swear I heard him talking Japanese".

"Our Grandpa´s Japanese, you dumb!" Colt answered.

"I know, bighead! But he only speaks in Japanese when he says bad words! I might ask him to teach me some".

Rocky laughed, Colt smiled. "Well, not tonight, Tum." Rocky said.

"Hey, guys" Colt said, "don´t you think Grandpa´s fighting looks more aggressive than usual?"

"What did you expect? He´s mad, Colt, we all are" Tum Tum replied.

"No, I don´t mean it like that. What I mean is…"

"I think I get it." Rocky nodded, "Look at him, Tum, don´t you think there´s something different in the way he´s moving?"

Tum Tum squinted. Now they mentioned it, they´re probably right. There was something different in his kata. He looked more dangerous, somehow, but he couldn´t explain where the difference was.

"He´s just using lethal punches." Rocky said like he´d read his thoughts. "Grandpa´s katas usually balance defense and attack. Now…"

"It´s all about the attack" Colt finished his phrase. "To be more specific, it´s all about _light up the eyes _attack". Just like those ninjas, he thought.

"He´s entering now, c´mon!" Rocky leaded his brothers downstairs.

Grandpa closed the backyard´s door and looked at his grandsons. "Sit down, boys".

"Sir!" Although they were home and not in Grandpa´s cabin, boys responded like the pupils they were. Not only because they were eager for answers but also because they respected and admired his grandfather.

Grandpa noticed the fact that Colt didn´t lay his back on the couch, apparently to avoid the contact with his wounds. He realized then that he hadn´t asked his grandsons about his injuries yet, of course, he didn´t need to. It was too much coincidence. He exhaled slowly and spoke with his mellow voice: "Who did this to you, Colt?"

"There were four ninjas, Sir".

Grandpa nodded and said something in Japanese. Tum Tum laughed and Rocky hit him on the ribs with his elbow, although, Colt and himself couldn´t stop a lopsided smile. His Grandpa was swearing in Japanese. A little confused by his pupils´ reaction, Grandpa continued: "Were they wearing a black suit with red masks and a red spot over the heart?"

"Yes. They were" Colt blinked and sat up straight.

"Do you know who they are, Grandpa?" Rocky stood up. He was still so pissed up, Colt thought.

Grandpa nodded.

"Well?" Tum Tum incited his answer.

"I can´t believe it. I should have known…" Grandpa mumbled under his breath, obviously lost in thought. He also began pacing back and forth.

"C´mon, Grandpa" Colt insisted, "No more mysteries. I think we´ve had enough for today".

Grandpa lowered his hood, giving them a glimpse of thin, white hair. "The thing is they´re ghosts".

"I knew it!" Tum Tum jumped to his feet. "And everyone says ghosts don´t exist!"

"No, not that kind of ghosts, Tum" Grandpa answered.

"Oh… I know, I just meant…"

"Shut up! Let him talk" His brothers said at once.

"What I really mean is they shouldn´t exist anymore since his leader…" Grandpa was so upset it was hard to follow him. However, the boys remained silent until he stopped and looked at him right in the eyes. "I need a drink".

"A dri… are you serious?" Rocky asked.

"Drink coming!" Tum Tum poured him a glass of whisky.

Grandpa swallowed it all and coughed. "This takes like gas… never understood why American don´t keep some sake in the house". He sat on another couch, facing his sons.

"Please, Grandpa, we´re totally lost in here" Colt demanded.

"I know, Colt, look at you… how could you even manage to fight those guys? They were four!"

Colt smiled, pride warming up his chest, at least something no one could take away from him. "You taught us well".

"These… ninjas…" Grandpa started, like Rocky he practically spat last word, like they didn´t deserve the title, "they call themselves the Breakers, since they literally break ninjas. They destroy them. They´re assassins, lethal fighters".

Colt swallowed. So he´d been luckier than he thought.

"But they were supposed to be extinct since their leader disappeared".

"Disappeared?" Rocky raised an eyebrow.

"He was… murdered" Grandpa continued.

"Wow! Assuming he was stronger than his subordinates, he must have been very hard to kill" Colt added.

"He was" Grandpa lowered his gaze.

"Grandpa, do you know who killed him?" Rocky asked, his heart hammering, he had a bad feeling.

Grandpa raised his face to look at them in the eyes.

"If I know? It was Snyder and I was with him".


	7. Chapter 7

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Before presenting this chapter, I truly want to thank Uncoolbro and Lighter from the bottom of my heart for your kind words and support. It´s a debt I will never be able to pay. **

**Chapter 7: Memories**

"W-Wait a minute" Rocky raised his open palm, "you were… with that evil ninja or with Snyder?"

"Who happens to be an evil ninja too" Colt added.

Grandpa sighed. "I was with Snyder. It happened when Jessica was pregnant of Rocky..."

Grandpa focused his glance, not on the three boys who were sitting on the couch but in two ninjas, dressed in black, running over an old building´s cornice. _Although it wasn´t wider than the taller man´s feet, both ninjas moved on his tiptoes as if floating in thin air, silent and fast; aware of danger but definitely not afraid. Mori Tanaka reached the window first and raised his fist to warn his actual comrade. Hugo Snyder stopped, leaning his back against the wall whereas his old sensei decided what to do next. He looked at Mori´s silhouette, barely drawn by city lights and smiled behind the fabric that covered most of his face. Tanaka had been more than a teacher; he had been more like a father._

_They had met when Snyder was taken to that country orphanage, after his parents were killed during a confrontation with the police; they were drug dealers. Mori worked there as a voluntary, teaching children how to harvest their own food. "Learn this, kids, and you´ll never be hungry"._

_"Yes, sir!"_

_But Snyder refused to learn or to interact with others. However, he always watched Mori´s lessons from the distance. Mori used to watch that kid as well and, one day, he asked Principal Annie about him._

_"He doesn´t speak English very well" She said with pale pink lips and a bushy blond hair. "He´s very smart but also quite aggressive. Kids don´t want to be around him. I don´t blame him, being raised by drug dealers but…I´ve already asked him to be transferred to another orphanage in the city"._

_"Miss…"_

_"Peggy"._

_"Miss Peggy, aggressiveness is a natural response to danger. Corner an animal and you´ll be bitten! Maybe that boy needs…"_

_"Love?"_

_"And control. If he learns how to protect himself he won´t feel like he´s in danger every second of the day. Then, he´ll be able to relax and even to care about others"._

_"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"_

_Mori needed several meetings to convince her that martial arts were not made for war but for peace, a healthy body and a peaceful mind. She made Tanaka sign that if Hugo Snyder showed any sign of violence derived from his lessons, he would be transferred immediately and Mori wouldn´t be allowed in the orphanage anymore. It wasn´t easy to earn the boy´s trust but, as Mori had predicted, he was just a kid who had learnt to live with fear so, by learning how to control himself and others, he grew secure and relaxed. He was a fast learner and a very skilled student. Mori used to take him home for the holidays and, when Snyder was old enough to leave the orphanage, they kept as close as always: training, laughing, learning… a two-rope string._

_Therefore, they were together that night, collaborating with Jessica´s husband since the FBI was facing an international criminal who happened to be a skilled and highly lethal ninja. Mori opened the window and entered the building, Snyder followed him. Both ninjas blended with the darkness of the room and walked, avoiding piles of boxes either full of drugs of weapons._

_"Keep your eyes open, Hugo"._

_Hugo Snyder nodded and held a ninja star on one hand. Mori turned around to face him. "Put it away. Its surface may reflect even a candlelight reveling your position. This ninjas we´re dealing with are not easy to defeat"._

_"I heard you know the leader". Snyder returned his star to his belt._

_"Where did you hear that?" Mori´s eyes pierced him._

_Snyder froze, aware of his sensei´s anger. He raised his shoulders unable to explain he used to eavesdrop since he was a child. He didn´t trust the cops, not even Mori´s son in law: a bunch of murderers with license to kill. In fact, he had to repeat himself he was not helping the blue ones but Mori and Jessica in order to keep going. Well, that and the need to prove himself with someone as strong as the old man. Mori Tanaka was a great fighter but, even if Snyder had never been able to win a fight against him, he didn´t feel that adrenaline rush anymore, knowing his master would never really hurt him. To be the best fighter you had to beat the best. And he definitely wanted to earn that title._

_"Look" Mori spoke in a barely audible whisper yet, his voice trembled with a feeling Snyder could not identify at all, "the man we´re dealing with…he´s name is Yahiko Yamamoto, he was a brother to me. We learned from the same sensei: my father. But he…"_

_"Decided for the wrong path?"_

_Mori nodded and swallowed to ease his dry throat. "He disagreed with my ancestor´s philosophy. He thought ninjitsu was useless to someone who never got into a fight. He wants to control people through pain and fear. My father expelled him, Yahiko never forgave him or me"._

_"Samuel said he has stolen some FBI´s files and he´s using that information to kill agents and criminals as well"._

_"He just wants to push his own limits. He wants blood. Careful, Hugo, we´re not dealing with an apprentice but with a professional killer"._

"Wait a minute" Colt´s voice brought Grandpa back to the Douglas´ living room, "Grandpa, that description…, don´t you think it fits Snyder?"

"Like a glove" Grandpa answered, his eyes bright with tears, "but I didn´t want to believe it, Colt. Not before that night…"

"What happened?" Tum Tum asked.

Grandpa took another sip of whisky and coughed. "We fought about a hundred ninjas that night before FBI could even get inside the building. They wore red masks and fought like the devil himself. But Snyder and I were the perfect team. He covered my back, I covered his… we finally reached Yahiko. He wasn´t hiding, he was enjoying the show. He asked his ninjas to retreat and asked me to fight with him".

"Man, this is a bloody déja vu!" Rocky said.

"I know, Rocky but unlike you, kids, Snyder didn´t offer himself to help. He didn´t try to stop me. I thought he was honoring the deal but truth was… he wanted to watch. He wanted to see two masters fighting to death".

"Pervert!" Tum Tum said.

"Shhh! Tum Tum, let him talk!" Rocky and Colt said at once.

"So we fought… and I lost".

"What?" The three ninjas stood up, his mouth wide opened.

"Grandpa, that´s impossible!" Rocky said.

"Think about it" Grandpa answered, "he had fought against me for so many years, he knew my abilities and my weaknesses like the palm of his own hand. On the other hand, I hadn´t seen him for years. I never expected his style to be so different. So far, I had only used ninjitsu mostly as a defense and I had never killed someone".

"Yeah, I know what you mean" Colt added, remembering the lethal punches he barely avoided. "Those ninjas were trying to…"

"They were not trying to squeeze your nose for sure!"

"I avoided the worst hits: throat, nose, kidneys, lungs, groin, articulations…"

Grandpa nodded. "That night, Yahiko broked my arm, from the elbow, so I wouldn´t be able to use it. He also broke my nose and two of my ribs, he was looking to incapacitate me but he also wanted me to suffer as much pain as possible. He kept screaming my father´s technique was lame and he would send him my head as a present".

"But, if you lost… how come you´re still…?" Colt asked.

"Alive?" Grandpa showed a sad smile neither of the boys had seen before. "Snyder stopped him".

"What?" three ninjas asked at once.

_"What are you saying?" Mori Tanaka yelled from the floor, or tried to but all he could do was to whisper. He felt about to faint, every breathe tasted like blood and hurt like hell with his splintered ribs. He couldn´t move half of his body, his arm was on an impossible angle. But more than his physical injuries, he felt his heart had been painfully sliced when he heard his pupil´s voice over the roar of the crowd._

_"Spare this man´s life, Mr. Yamamoto, and take me as your pupil"._

_"Hugo…"_

_Snyder turned around and walked towards Mori. Yamamoto watched the scene, apparently too shocked to respond. Snyder helped Mori to sit down, leaning him against a huge metal bin. Mori growled, unable to endure the suffering._

_"Listen, Mori…" Snyder looked at him and spoke in a whisper, " I´m really grateful of everything you´ve done for me but your philosophy…"_

_"Snyder, don´t…"_

_Snyder´s gaze hardened. "Don´t you see it´s nonsense, Mori? To train this hard only to harvest vegetables and gardenias in your back garden! Mori, we´re warriors, Ninjitsu is a martial art. We could be powerful, Mori, we could make our own rules! There´s no need to work with the FBI or with anyone! We can be masters! You and me, what do you say?"_

_"All this years, Hugo, and you didn´t learn anything?" Mori´s cheeks were full of tears._

_Snyder frowned. "What I learned today is that your stupid kindness has made you weak. I won´t follow your steps, old man". He stood up and walked towards Yamamoto. He didn´t look Mori when he said: "I´ll ask for your life and that´s how I´ll pay my debt"._

_"Hugo! Hugo, please!"_

_Yamamoto evaluated Snyder. Hugo bowed without taking his eyes from Yamamoto´s dark ones. "Master?", he added._

_"Everything related to Mori is garbage to me" Yamamoto´s lips curved to form a smile full of disdain. "I don´t need any students. I want you both dead!"_

_Snyder didn´t expect this according to his terrified look. Yet, he had a tiny knife on one hand and threw it to Yamamoto´s throat, taking advantage of his one second distraction. Yamamoto fell. Confused… or maybe well trained, his ninjas fled on every direction before FBI could even enter the building. Hugo looked at his old sensei one last time._

_"I give you your life, old man. I owe you nothing." And he vanished. Mori didn´t even follow his movements, his eyes blurred, his heart shattered._

"Bastard!" Tum Tum mumbled under his breath, even forgetting to eat any more candy.

Grandpa denied with his head. "I should´ve known better, paid more attention to my student. He was ambitious in a bad way. He never showed that much mercy for the weaker ones. But I was blinded for my own ideals. I found out he was already into criminal deals six months later".

"I´m sorry, Grandpa" Rocky had never thought too much about Grandpa and Snyder relationship. It shouldn´t have been easy for him to lose someone he really cared about. Specially to discover he had chosen to become everything he tried to save him from. In certain way, Snyder had been like a son to him and a beloved pupil like… well, like themselves.

"I even considered not to teach ninjitsu anymore, you know?" Grandpa smiled, his eyes still focused on a past none of the boys could even reach.

"No, Grandpa! That´s horrible!" Tum Tum yelled, startling his brothers and Grandpa himself.

"Then Rocky was born. And I tried to correct my mistakes" Grandpa´s smile warmed up. He focused on his grandsons. "From the beginning, you showed me you were compassionated and kind to others. You became everything I dreamed you to be… and more".

He stood up and hugged his grandsons who hugged him back. Even more grateful and prouder than before. Colt even bit his lip not to grunt because of his hurt body.

"Well, you better go and rest". Grandpa let them go and turned around to hide new tears. "Tomorrow we´ll start a different training".

"Yeah!" Boys yelled in excitement.

"Oh, no, don´t celebrate it yet… you won´t thank me tomorrow".


	8. Chapter 8

**Note from myself: As usual, I want to thank Uncoolbro and Lighter for your reviews and for writing such amazing stories (thanks for updating, Uncoolbro! you really made me happy!). I also want to thank a Guest for your beautiful words about Chapter 6. I wasn´t able to reply because you don´t seem to have an account here, however, i hope to read from you again!**

**Chapter 8: Time to heal**

"I mean it, Colt! Get out of there or I´ll knock the door down!"

"Be my guest, Rocky":

Tum Tum covered the telephone´s auricular with his palm whereas Rocky kicked the bathroom´s door and yelled in frustration. For once, he felt relieved with his mother´s tendency to use the old fashioned one (that brick-alike thing that even had a cable on!) instead of the kids´ cell phones. Because she would definitely have called Rocky, and he was not in the mood to take that call.

"Is everything right, honey"? Jessica asked from the other side of the country, "I barely hear you… it´s so noisy there".

Tum Tum recognized her _suspicious-tone._

"You know my brothers… it´s just… I think Colt´s looking for his backpack or something and Rocky´s yelling he´s not a five year old". Tum didn´t like lying but that didn´t mean he didn´t know how to lie. Best lies, Colt had said once, are the ones that include a generous portion of truth.

"Just like now". Tum Tum thought "Colt´s not looking for anything in this very moment but he could be. After all, that´s what he does every morning". He looked at his Grandpa from over the shoulder. He didn´t support lies. However, Rocky had used his brains to convince him that, as long as his father rested in that hospital, he wouldn´t be able to do anything for them and knowing about Colt´s brutal attack would definitely devastate him and Jessica. Grandpa agreed to omit that part of the story reluctantly. Now, he wasn´t even paying attention to Tum Tum´s conversation, too occupied in the kitchen, looking for something he could actually cook.

"How´s Dad?" Tum Tum asked.

"He´s better, thanks. At least he´s already arguing with the nurses because he wants to get out of here so…" she chuckled, "I assume he´s recovering well".

"Good".

Rocky entered like a thunder. "I promise if he´s not here in five minutes…! We´re gonna be late!" He kicked a chair.

"Hush, Rocky!" Tum Tum covered the auricular again. "What? Oh, no, mom he´s… not here. He´s in the bathroom. Yeah, I´ll tell them… No, mom! I won´t kiss them for you! Not in my senses! Yeah, me too. Bye." He hung up the phone and sighed. "Rocky! What the hell?"

"He locked himself in the bathroom!" He kept kicking anything on sight: his backpack, trash bin, same chair. "He says he won´t go to school today!"

"So what?" Tum Tum raised his shoulders. "Maybe he´s not feeling well, Rock and why are you this crazy today?".

"He obviously doesn´t but… we can´t live him alone, Tum! What if those ninjas come back? Who says they´re not out there right now?"

Tum Tum felt a knot in his stomach and turned to look Grandpa. He couldn´t believe his sensei hadn´t said a word on that issue so far. He used to mediate his brother´s fights, otherwise, one of them would already be resting six feet underground. All he was doing was opening and closing the fridge and mumbling words in Japanese. "Swearing", he thought. "It´s okay, Grandpa, we´ll have some Cheerios".

"Chee… what´s that?" Grandpa looked at his grandson, confused.

"Cereal and milk" Rocky translated while pouring some golden cheerios in a blue bowl.

"This is mainly sugar." Grandpa read the _Nutrition Facts _of the box, frowning. "Factory made".

"It´s ok, Grandpa, it tastes good. Want some?" Tum Tum asked him.

Someone knocked at the kitchen door. "I get it!"

"Of course", Tum Tum showed him a meaningful smile.

"Shut up". Rocky walked with long strides, his face flushed, looking like he was about to kill someone. Emily appeared from the other side, wearing a green sweater and white pants. Colt used to say she dressed in his favorite ninja color every time she wore something like that. Tum Tum considered it for a minute but decided to let the words die in his throat.

"Hi, Rocky! Hi, Tum Tum!" She froze in the door, her eyes wide opened. "Oh! Good morning, Mr. Tanaka". She made a clumsy reverence.

Tum Tum smiled. Either she watched too many Chinese movies or she was simply impressed after hearing a hundred stories about Douglas´ Japanese grandfather. Tum realized she had never met him before. Obviously thankful for her consideration, Grandpa leaned forward and saluted her in a very Japanese way.

"Hi, Emily". Rocky rolled his eyes.

"Is… is your father feeling better?" She shifted her weight from one foot to another, twisting a lock of light brown hair with her fingers. "Rocky had talked to her yesterday, after disappearing from school. She used to go back with him now that he had a driving license and was very surprised not to find him on the parking lot. She arrived home about half an hour later than her neighbors, the three Douglas boys and was alarmingly shocked when Rocky opened the door, shaky and deadly pale. They talked in the backyard before Rocky got back with his brothers. Emily was one of the few people he trusted on those…issues.

"Yeah, he´s improving pretty well thanks".

"And… what about Colt?" she asked lowering her voice.

Rocky sighed. "I´m about to kill him", he smiled. "He didn´t have a good night and he´s quite moody today. In fact, I´ll go upstairs and…"

"It´s okay, I´ll wait here", Emily nodded. According to the dark circles beneath Rocky´s blue eyes, Colt wasn´t the only one who hadn´t slept that night.

"Thanks, I´ll be back in a minute… I hope", he lowered his gaze. "Uh! And… Emily?"

"Yes?"

"He´s not looking very healthy today so…"

"Don´t worry. I´m not that easy to impress". She nodded.

"Right. Excuse me". Rocky left the kitchen, ready for round two.

Colt was sitting on the bathroom´s floor with his back leaned against the cold wall. In contrast to whatever his siblings were thinking, he had gotten up really early (not that he had slept that much), had a shower (that stung over his wounds) and put on a long sleeve blue shirt and black pants. He had no plan of skipping school; in fact, he had decided it just five minutes ago. As usual, Rocky was right: every single wound felt worse in the morning. He could barely move and he did it with an unbearable stiffness. Besides, he looked awful. Even when his left eye wasn´t swollen anymore, the left side of his face was a collection of different shades from crimson red to black and purple… his right hand throbbed and his whole body was covered in bruises. He felt his blood rushing with anger when Rocky knocked again.

"Stop it, Colt!"

"Leave me alone!" he yelled. He didn´t feel like answering teachers´ and peers´ questions.

"Colt, you´re acting like a… this is a tantrum, for God´s sake!"

Colt opened the door, eyes flaring. Rocky stepped back, instinctively. "A tantrum, you say? Rocky, look at me, damn it! What am I gotta say? Oh, hello, Mr. Principal, I just got beaten by four assassin ninjas yesterday. Have a nice day!"

"Look," Rocky lowered his voice and raised a hand to silence his brother, "if you want to go to the hospital…"

"I don´t want to go to the hospital, Rocky! I said I´m ok!" Colt gestured aggressively before gasping and pressing his ribs.

"Hey!" Rocky reached out to grab him by the shoulders but Colt turned around not to face him.

"Give it a rest, Rocky. I can´t… I just don´t want to show up like this".

"Because of that asshole?" Tum Tum appeared behind them both, arms crossed on his chest. "It´s Jordan, right?"

Rocky frowned and opened his mouth but didn´t say a word. He opened his eyes, suddenly understanding. "Is that why you don´t want to go, Colt? Because of those stupid bullies?"

"So what if I don´t want to?" Colt turned around and faced his brothers; his cheeks brighten with something that had nothing to do with his injuries, at least the physical ones. "Didn´t remember what happened yesterday? I put him on his place in front of a thousand witnesses! I can´t…" Colt bit his lip, he was trembling.

Rocky sighed. "He doesn´t want to look that vulnerable", he concluded. He surveyed Colt for a minute. That was his reason! Despite his moody temper, he didn´t fight… that often, even when he was constantly and deliberately provoked by idiots like Jordan. Rocky always interfered (as Colt angrily complained at him) to keep his younger sibling under control, which didn´t mean he wasn´t empathic or anything. Maybe it was time to reconcile…

"Oh, man, get over it!"

Both, Rocky and Colt, looked at Tum Tum in disbelief.

"What did you say?" Colt asked, narrowing his eyes.

Tum Tum rolled his eyes. "I said get over it! So you lost, now what? You´ll stay here, like a hermit?"

Even Colt´s sharp tongue froze, taken aback; apparently more astonished than outraged. On the other hand, Tum Tum showed a determination that didn´t seem to fit his thirteen year old body. Not like he hadn´t argued or been stubborn before, Rocky thought, but it was different this time. "No, he _is_ different".

"I don´t expect you to understand it" Colt answered with disdain.

"Of course, because I have never lost before" Tum Tum raised his chin.

"Yet…" Colt avoided his gaze, still considering what to say next.

"I´ve never been that hurt, that´s true" Tum Tum continued, "but I also know that, from the three of us, I´m the weakest one. I´ve never defeated you in combat, I usually need your help to beat our enemies. Come on! On our ninjas name ceremony, you received a name due to your abilities… mine, I got it because of my love for candy! So, please Colt, don´t tell me I don´t understand how you feel!"

Colt stared at his brother and then to the floor, ashamed.

"A ninja shall be proud in his defeat and humble in his triumph" Grandpa was standing on the top of the stairs. Neither of the boys had seen him coming, but again, that wasn´t something that hadn´t happened before. "Colt, a broken ninja is not precisely a ninja who has lost in a fight but a ninja who´s lost his will to stand up from the ground".

"Yes, sir" Colt answered in a whisper.

"And Rocky…"

"Sir!" Rocky stood up straight.

"A _gentleman_ ninja never lets a girl waiting for him!"

"Sir?" Rocky blushed. Colt and Tum Tum exchanged half-smiles.

"Go to school now. We´ll meet here, when you return. We have some training to do".

"Yes, sir!"

"Tum Tum?"

"Sir!"

"You may change your battle score today, right?" Grandpa winked at him.

"Well, for the first time in my life I was wiser than Rocky and faster than Colt´s viper tongue so… who knows? Luck may be on my side this morning".

He left with a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: A message in red**

"Seriously?" Colt snorted.

Kevin smiled. They were standing on the hall, taking some books out of their lockers. Colt put aside another card with some girl´s telephone number and mumbled something about female craziness. At least Jordan was not looking for a fight today, Colt didn´t feel very _prudent-like-Rocky_ this morning. They had met before, in class and in the main entrance but both had acted as the other one didn´t exist. Better that way.

"Won´t you call whoever wrote that note?" Kevin asked, evidently enjoying the moment. "She might be pretty".

"You know? I just don´t get it. It´s not like I´m wearing my best smile today".

"Well, you look pretty battered this morning".

"No! Really? You´re such a keen observer!" Colt shut his locker door loudly.

"And you seem able to deal with it", Kevin continued. Colt looked at him questioningly. "Oh, my god! You´re so blind! Don't give me that look, man, you´re frightening! Jeez, look, here´s my theory: no matter how rough a girl can be… they all keep a lady in distress deep down in their hearts."

"Like Martha, from the wrestling team?" Colt raised one eyebrow (something Tum Tum really envied). Martha was about three feet taller than Colt and wider than almost every man he knew. And she was a good fighter, most fell intimidated by her… like Kevin.

"Even Martha" Kevin nodded. "She has a Kitty pencil! I´ve seen it! My point is, remember when you kicked those football idiots´butt yesterday?"

Colt shrugged. A wrinkle appeared between his eyebrows, he was obviously in pain with every move. "I didn´t kick their butts, I just played a little bit with them".

"Whatever, remember how they started moaning and crying when you hit them or when you almost crash Jordan´s hand?"

Colt smiled. He remembered.

"Well, most of girls must have thought they were crybabies who just love to bluff. Now, when it comes to you… I mean, look at those bruises! It hurts just to watch!" Kevin flinched, "yet, you just seem to… handle the situation. Like the though guy that could actually protect them for real. C´mon, Colt! Why do you think girls like _Twilight_? They all feel like Bella, desperately looking for their Edward".

Colt laughed. "You really thought this through, didn´t you?"

Kevin shrugged. "I had plenty of time. You spent about an hour with Mr. Olsen".

As soon as he had gotten out of Rocky´s car, Colt had walked to History class (first one of the day) trying his best to ignore everybody´s gaze. He had barely got ridden of Rocky, who insisted on walking him to his classroom. Although his clothes covered most part of the damage, his bandaged hands and the bruises on both, face and neck, were not precisely something you´d see every day. Moreover, Mr. Olsen´s secretary had taken him out of class to meet the principal in his office.

"What did he tell you anyway?" Kevin asked his mate.

Colt frowned. "He didn´t ask me about my father, which I assume means he doesn´t think we live under domestic violence or maybe he called home and Grandpa told him about his condition. They must know he works with the government, I assume it must be somewhere on my files. What he did ask me was if I had problems with other students and if I needed to go to the nursery. Guess he heard about Jordan and his ape gang".

"What did you say then?"

"That I fell from a motorcycle". Colt shrugged, "and refused to go to the nursery but, of course, _that_ was not a question". Despite student´s opinion, principal was not stupid. Colt´s bruises on his neck showed someone´s fingers and his skinned knuckles suggested that he had delivered some punches "He walked me there and waited for the nurse´s report. She told him I had severe contusions and she was very impressed none of my ribs were broken. Anyway, she suggested me to go home and rested for about five days. She also said I should get some stitches in my right hand. But principal Olsen didn´t let me go. He said he was aware of my father´s occupation and its risks so he considered it better to keep an eye on  
me, at least while I´m here".

Kevin nodded. "No student would be able to hurt you like that, he must know that if he heard about Jordan".

Colt swore, unable to lock his locker. The cuts in his right hand were deeper than he wanted to admit. Kevin did it for him.

"Thanks, and about Mr. Olsen, I´m surprised he has such a good instinct…"Colt noticed his friend switched his weight from one foot to another and avoided his gaze. "What is it?" Colt demanded.

"Listen, about that… there´s something I need to tell you…"

Colt placed his hands over his shoulders to stop him. "What?"

"I might have hinted about your fight".

"WHAT? Kevin!" Colt looked over his shoulder, everybody was looking so he lowered his voice. "What did you do?"

"In my defense: nothing that compromising, okay?" He raised both hands. "Look, when you were with those… assassins, yesterday, I ran as fast as I could, searching for Rocky. I found him in the parking lot, waiting for you. I… yelled you were in danger…"

"Kevin!"

"Let me finish, please. And this morning, when you didn´t show up as early as usual, Jordan said something about you hiding at home. It made me so angry… I didn´t realize what I was doing until I had done it already. I yelled at him he was nothing but a braggart, unlike you, who had fought by yourself against four professional assassins in order to save me… then I went silent but it was too late already".

Colt leaned his nape against his locker. But to Kevin´s surprise, Colt was laughing. "It´s okay, Kev, I don't think they´ll believe it anyway".

"Well… I think someone googled you and found something about your dad, an article about five years ago, when he captured that evil ninja you told me about, remember? Anyway, they assumed your dad is a detective or something and that you were ambushed from some of his enemies".

Colt nodded. "Perhaps that´s why Mr. Olsen didn´t enquired further about that fight, not even after nurse´s report. He must believe that same version".

"Excuse me".

Colt and Kevin turned around. They found a girl with a red dress and long dark hair, twisting her hands and looking at her tiptoes. Her friends were gathered in circle, a few steps behind, giggling and taking pictures with their cell phones.

"My name´s Amanda and I was wondering if you´d like to have lunch with us".

Colt frowned. "Hi, Amanda… thanks but not today. Maybe later". He ignored Kevin´s laugh.

"Oh, I see" Amanda came closer. "That really looks painful, are you okay?"

"Never been better" Colt smiled.

"Do you need anything?"

"We´re good, thanks".

"Okay, see you around".

"Yeah, bye".

She ran towards her friends, who laughed and clapped noisily.

"Don´t say a word" Colt told Kevin, blushing and annoyed.

"I won´t… ninja Casanova".

Colt always thought celebrities should enjoy with all that attention. He was wrong. He might enjoy being on the spotlight every once in a while but this was just too much. After noon, girls and guys lost their shyness and became more direct. He received a thousand notes during his classes with questions about the real story of his injuries. People he didn´t know ran into him and asked, in an ironically loud whisper, about his mysterious attack and the _unsubs _behind it (so they watched Criminal Minds); they also asked him to show his wounds and if he´d taught them how to fight; a couple of girls told him he looked good with all those bruises that made his eyes look greener. Even Jordan and his crew decided to swallow their pride and ask him about that, too. "Not that it´s easy to leave you those marks, right?", they said as a compliment.

Rocky didn´t escape of this fever neither. People assaulted the oldest Douglas brother when the middle one was not around. Rocky hated attention more than any of his brothers, so he really had to gather all his strength and concentration not to explode in anger and frustration. In about three hours, teenagers managed to find old articles about them on the internet. One about a kidnap and other about some Indians, as a result, new questions were made.

They were relieved when school day was over and got out as fast as they could. However, they weren´t able to leave that soon since Tum Tum was nowhere around.

"Where the hell is he?" Colt drummed the window with his fingers.

"Hope not in the middle of a crowd" Rocky sighed.

"Do you think our fans intercepted him already?" Colt laughed. Rocky rolled his eyes but smiled. At least Colt was in a better mood now.

Time passed and Tum Tum was still missing. Rocky couldn´t ignore the bad feeling spreading all over his guts. According to Colt´s face and his sudden silence, he was thinking the same. Maybe they were just being paranoid.

"Stay here. I´m looking for Tum Tum" Rocky said in his leader cold voice.

Colt opened the passenger´s door.

"Colt!"

"No way, if those red masked morons came back, you won´t be able to take them yourself. Trust me".

Rocky bit his lip, he was right. But looking at his brother… he wouldn´t be able to stand that much in a fight. He was still stiff and obviously hurt. Rocky´s cell phone rang, breaking the silence and making him jump to the car´s ceiling.

"Mother f…!" Colt yelled.

"It´s Tum!" Rocky breathed out. If his brother had texted him, he must had delayed in a class or in the cafeteria.

"What is it?" Colt asked, his gaze on his brother´s sudden pallor. "Rocky! What is it!" He leaned toward Rocky, trying to look at the text himself. Rocky´s hand was shaking. Unable to talk, he showed Colt a message texted from Tum Tum´s mobile, but obviously written by someone else.

_Baby brother´s coming with a message. Leave the car and he dies._

Colt swore. As if he´d always been there, Tum Tum appeared in the middle of a crowd of teenagers carrying their backpacks, chatting and laughing, ready to go home. But, unlike them, he walked slowly, his gaze upon his brother´s car, his face still, frozen like a mask. Rocky and Colt scanned him, at least he didn´t seem hurt, just very frightened. Without losing his brother, they turned to look sideways, over the building, beyond students, in an effort to identify anything out of place. Of course, they saw nothing.

True ninjas were able to hide their presence by blending with their surroundings. But they were there. Therefore, neither Colt nor Rocky left their seats, not willing to challenge those assassins. When Tum finally reached the car, Rocky stretched his arm and opened him the door from inside. His younger brother got in the back seat of the car.

"It´s okay. They´re already gone".

Without a word, Rocky turned around. "Tum Tum, are you hurt?" he and Colt asked at once.

Tum Tum´s lower lip was trembling. He didn´t answer right away, like he were choosing his words. "Yes, but not as bad as Colt. They sent us a message".

"Give it to us!" Colt said.

Rocky´s and Colt´s flinched when Tum Tum lifted his left sleeve. Bloody words had been cut in his forearm: _One week. _

"Bastards!" Colt hit window, wetting his bandage with fresh blood of his knuckles.

"One week?" Rocky ignored a wave of nauseas and tried to focus on the message.

"One week…" Tum Tum´s voice quivered. "To kill us all".


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Game change**

"Aaaaaaaaaaaw! Rocky, leave me alone", Tum Tum ran all over the living room, away from Rocky and his lethal cotton full of antiseptic. Rocky tried to grab him but it wasn´t that easy, his youngest brother was good when it came to escaping. After all, he had escaped from an angry Colt since they were little kids.

"Tum Tum! Control yourself, you´re acting like a baby!" He demanded.

"No way! That burns!" Tum Tum covered his injured forearm as to protect it.

"Colt was worse than you and he barely flinched!"

Colt was sitting with his legs on the couch and felt really pleased with his brother´s compliment, yet he got angry again when Tum Tum replied: "Colt´s always been out of his mind! I´m not as crazy as him! Get away from me!"

Colt snorted but didn´t say a word. He was so unbearably mad! But it was not Tum Tum´s fault after all (not this time). Whereas Rocky was always cool under pressure, Colt felt furious whenever he was worried or sad. "Man, if I keep responding like this I´ll die from a bile attack!", he thought before taking a deep breath and looking over his shoulder. He couldn´t help a smile. Rocky had finally managed to pin Tum Tum against the floor. On the verge of tears (which, in Colt´s opinion, expressed more frustration than pain), Tum Tum was trying to get rid of his brother´s grip but couldn´t do much in his actual position: face up, Rocky sitting over his belly. With an accurate and precise movement of his hand, Rocky cleaned Tum´s forearm, deaf to his cries and bad words. If Colt hadn´t felt that knot in his throat, he would have laughed; Tum Tum didn´t swear unless he was really angry. "He must be like Grandpa", Colt concluded.

"Listen to me…" Rocky told Tum Tum, "I´m gotta let you go if you promise not to fight me back".

"Get off me! I´m serious, Rocky!"

"Not until you promise to pull yourself together". Colt watched Rocky, admiring him in silence (something he would never confess, not even under torture!). He was really made of steel or diamond or Addamantium (or whatever metal that made Wolverine invincible). How could he keep his nerves under control like all the time? His ninja name really fitted him like a glove. However, Colt was aware of the pallor on his flesh and his shaky hands: Rocky could act as if everything was under control but that didn´t mean he actually felt that way. He was just a very skilled actor, and a stupid old school hero, willing to sacrifice and prioritize others before himself. Something that made Colt want to hug him and kick him at the same time, realizing how often everyone (starting with himself) relied in his older brother. "What if it had been Rocky instead of Tum Tum or myself? Our nerves would be shattered by now. We´re quite useless without him bossing around" (something he would definitely never say out loud, as long as he was alive).

Tum Tum finally accepted the deal and they both stood up and sat on the couch, completely worn out. Rocky massaged his forehead and shut his eyes for a minute. He was overwhelmed and almost fainted when they didn´t find Grandpa home. Thanks god he didn´t rejected technology as much as not to have a cell phone! He had gone to the market to buy some stuff. Tum Tum begged him to get him some chocolates too, a sign that he was feeling better. It had been nerve-racking driving home with a completely silent Tum Tum, without a lolly pop or a jelly been in his mouth!

"So…" Rocky opened his eyes again, "not a word to mom or dad while they´re still at the hospital".

Colt and Tum Tum nodded. "Tum…" Rocky continued, "can you tell us what happened again?"

Tum Tum sighed. "I don´t know, Rock´"

"Why, are you feeling sick?" Rocky leaned forward.

"No, it´s just… I have no candy left in my pocket!"

"You´re such an idiot!" Colt yelled.

"What? Sugar gives you energy, dumb ass!" he replied.

"Please, Tum Tum" Rocky asked again, obviously unwilling to listen to that silly fight any longer.

Tum Tum sighed again and twisted his hands. "I told you already, it wasn´t pleasant, of course, but it wasn´t like when they attacked Colt". He looked other way, unbelievable embarrassed.

"Thanks god for that!" Colt rolled his eyes. "We´re not looking for the best action scene here! Just keep talking!"

"Please, Colt, chill!" Rocky reprimanded his brother, although he knew anger used to replace fear in his brother´s untamable heart.

"I got out from school, as usual…" Tum Tum started, "and, since my classes end before yours, I decided to walk to the nearest market to buy some candy…"

"Like there´s not a gang of ninja psychopaths trying to kill us!" Colt snorted.

Tum Tum frowned but, maybe because it was actually true, he ignored him and continued. "My friends were after me, you know, Ryan and Tim? So I wasn´t alone but then, someone grabbed me by the shoulder just before crossing the street to reach the Seven Eleven. It was a firm grip, almost painful, I thought it was Ryan trying to stop me from being hit by a car, but when I turned around…" Tum Tum´s lower lip trembled, "all I saw was a black hood and a red mask.

_Tum Tum remembered that moment. His heart hammered so fast and with such strength he feared a heart attack. However, he tried not to panic (he had to act like Rocky). He forced himself to breathe as normally as possible and to watch. He didn´t see his friends but instead, he found two more ninjas behind him. They nodded towards a side alley. With a growing sense of danger and raising fury (that was his Colt-conscience), Tum Tum followed them, picturing in his mind ten thousand ways to start the fight yet, he decided to let those as his last resource, painfully aware that he wouldn´t win this one, not on his own. The ninjas stopped when they reached the middle of the alley: one ahead, two behind of him. The ninja facing him spoke with a foreign accent: "You´ll find your friends sleeping on this very alley, five minutes from here. We need to leave a message for you and your family"._

_Tum Tum blinked. That was it? "What message?"_

_But then, he stepped back when the ninja took a kunai with an evil smile (well, at least that´s what Tum Tum supposed, since he couldn´t see behind the mask). "We write with blood, since blood is what we take from our enemies"._

_"You´re going to kill me?" Tum Tum´s voice sounded a little too high-pitched to himself. His stomach felt totally empty when the three aggressors laughed._

_"No yet. One week". The ninja walked closer to him. _

_Tum Tum gathered all his will not to flee from there. Instead, he raised his chin, defiantly. "How do we do this?"_

_The ninja leaned his head, like considering, then he said: "Raise your sleeve and give me your arm and your cell phone"._

_Tum Tum did it. The ninja threw his mobile to one of his comrades but he didn´t drop it on the floor like Tum had thought. Tum Tum flinched when the knife dug into his skin but kept looking at his opponent´s artificial eyes. He swallowed not to let a gasp of pain out. He knew the cuts weren´t deep but still they stung. "I´ll never get a tattoo", he thought. Despite his wish, the ninja did it really quickly, maybe because they could actually be interrupted. _

_"Now, go back to school. Whenever you enter the parking lot, send the message my fellow wrote to your brothers. We´re leaving now but we´ll follow you really close. Don´t look for us, just keep walking. Count to ten before leaving"._

_In a couple of movements, the ninjas climbed the walls and disappeared from the scene. Tum Tum´s forearm stung, he felt blood dripping from his wounds. He covered with his sleeve and turned around. He found his friends unconscious, with their backs against the wall, as if they were really drunk. He decided to left them there. He walked to school… the rest was history._

"See? That´s what I don´t understand" Colt said. "Why were they moderately civilized with you? When they ambushed me they simply attacked!"

"Because they knew you wouldn´t listen or stay the way your brother did". The three boys turned around to watch Grandpa, who was standing on the hall with a papel bag on his hands. Neither of the boys knew how long he had been listening but didn´t surprise not to have noticed him before. He was the best ninja they knew, he was their sensei. Grandpa took a chocolate bar out and threw it to Tum Tum, who catched it and unwrapped it happily. "This ninjas are professional. Listen, boys, there´s a dark side of a ninja: in the past, some of the ninjas were spies and skilled killers. People hired them to murder, since they were the only ones capable of defeating the samurais. Of course, there were other ninjas who used their knowledge to protect the weaker ones, but the evil always exist where the goodness lives. It´s just balance. These ninjas are not amateurs, they´ve tracked each one of us we don´t know for how long. They know us: our routines, our characteristics, our relationships, our behavior… our strengths and our weaknesses".

Colt clenched his fists. Those bastards considered him an easy target, aware of his impulsive temper, and he had just walked into the lion´s opened mouth.

"Colt!".

"Sir!"

Grandpa showed him a warm smile. "I know how you feel. From your siblings, you are the wildest one. They knew you were the easiest one to get into a fight but, they were four skilled assassins versus one teenager, and they didn´t hesitate while using his arms. They also knew you respond fast, they counted on that. That´s why they threw you that ninja star that sticked in your hand, they expected you to have outstanding reflexes. Otherwise, you would have ended up dead, with a shuriken on your neck. Despite their nasty methods, they didn´t underestimate you so don´t underestimate yourself".

"Yes, sir". Colt answered, embarrassed.

"Tum Tum".

"Sir!"

"On the other hand, they counted on you not to start a fight. But they wanted to leave a message, not only for us, but for you. They wanted you to feel helpless and humiliated. To emphasize your condition as the weakest one. They need you to feel as a bargain to your brothers…"

Tum Tum lowered his gaze but Grandpa gently put a finger under his chin and lifted it so he could see him right to the eye. "But they failed, my little one".

"How?" Tum Tum asked, blinking to fight the tears away.

"You managed the situation, didn´t you? You got away alive and almost in one piece" Grandpa blinked. Tum Tum smiled.

"I didn´t cry once!"

"No, you didn´t. Now, Rocky".

"Sir!"

"When it comes to you, they must know you work great under pressure and that you don´t lose your head despite the situation. But be careful, they also know they´ll break you if they break the ones you love, the ones you can´t protect. I´m afraid we still must expect another attack … they won´t hurt you right away…" Grandpa´s voice failed, he swallowed a couple of times before continuing, "not before hurting or killing someone you love first, and of course that´ll happen before that week".

An oppressive silent fell in the room.

"How are we going to fight these dudes?" Tum Tum asked, worried.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Grandpa took out some of the things he kept in the bag: pepper, cinnamon, a rope, some weird looking herbs and a brown unguent. "In order to be able to win this fight, we must train our best, like our life depends on it. I was planning to teach you this after you were adults but… with all this, you need to learn it as fast as possible".

"Grandpa, what is this about?" Colt asked, trying not to sound that excited.

Grandpa didn´t answer right away, there was something the boys didn´t recognize in his face. Something like grief or uneasiness. "This training consists in pushing our own limits in order to survive, when our life is in terrible danger".

"Like when we practice with that dummy, when we light up his eyes?" Tum Tum asked.

"No, Tum, not like that" Grandpa continued. "This training is the last resource for a ninja when he´s forced to fight when he´s not able to win".

The boys straightened in their seats, interested. "That doesn´t sound bad at all!" Colt said but went silent again when Grandpa looked at him with a severe look.

"This is not a game, Colt. This training implies a lot of pain. Bruises and aching muscles are pretty normal while practicing ninjitsu but this time… rules will have to change".

"What do you mean?" Rocky frowned.

"This time I´m gotta hurt you for real, boys".


	11. Chapter 11

**N/A: I know this is a long chapter but I really hope you enjoy it. Thanks again for the support of every single person who´s reading this story, for your reviews and your beautiful personal messages. **

**Eternally grateful, Tessy.**

**Chapter 11: Dangerous method**

"Rocky!"

"Sir!"

"I want you to fight Colt".

Rocky hesitated. Grandpa raised his eyebrows; his boys never questioned his orders. Rocky licked his lips, anxious, and asked: "Even in his condition, Grandpa?"

"Because of his condition", Grandpa nodded, his gaze cold as an iceberg… and equally mysterious.

The three boys were wearing their white karategis, which accentuated Colt´s greenish bruises. He couldn´t blame Rocky for worrying about him, not after everything he had done. However, his brother´s hesitation felt as a cold, cruel slap. Colt´s hazel eyes narrowed and he pressed his lips into a thin, colorless line that contrasted with the red spots that had just appeared on his cheeks. "Remember to control yourself", he thought and held his tongue not to answer with a resentful reply, it´s not like he wanted to sound like an ungrateful loser. But watching Jo through the corner of his eye didn´t help that much to heal his shattered confidence.

Since Grandpa had warned them about the Breakers _modus operandi_, everyone had agreed on the need of warning their possible targets. Therefore, they had asked Emily, Kevin and Jo (they considered Tum Tum´s friends out of danger) to come home so they could keep an eye on them. Yet, in their haze, neither of them had considered how weird would it be to train with an audience. Even Grandpa seemed uncomfortable with them, sitting in a corner of the back yard, unable to hide their excitement: after all these years, they could finally watch one of Grandpa´s mythical trainings.

For Colt, it wasn´t easy to tell Jo what happened. Nobody liked to confess you had been beaten like a rag doll, specially not to someone who happened to considered you one of her heroes. But Jo had cried so much in the telephone that even Colt hadn´t resisted the temptation of letting her pamper him a little so he even let himself flinch when Jo hugged him. "Please don't cry, at least it happened to me and not to my brothers…" he said with a hoarse voice that intended to express the opposite, blushing when he realized his brothers were listening.

"Don´t worry, bro. I´m cool". Colt faced Rocky but didn´t get into a fighting stance right away. He just watched him, studied him as an opponent. It was not the first time they fought against each other. After all, half of the time they trained on their combat skills. However, Colt felt more nervous than he would like to admit. From the three of them, Rocky´s kicks and punches were the most powerful. Although Colt was able to block most of his attacks, he usually stumbled back because of their strength; on the contrary, Rocky could block his siblings´ punches without losing his balance. Also, his legs were the most flexible. He kicked fast and high! Not to mention he was really skilled in the art of immobilizing others. But Colt knew he was faster and much more elusive. In order to win, he´d have to stay far from Rocky´s grip.

"Listen to me, boys" Grandpa continued, "this time I´m not looking for a tie. I want you to unable your opponent to keep fighting. Fight will not stop until we have an evident winner".

"Yes, sir!" Both kids nodded, their eyes focused on each other. Colt´s previous anxiety was suddenly replaced for a rush of adrenaline. He smiled, he enjoyed combats and, above all, deep down he was willing to push him farther. He really wanted to win. But Rocky´s face expression showed nothing but indecision. What worried him that much? Colt frowned.

"Rocky" Grandpa spoke aloud, "you don´t have to hurt him. You may unable him by controlling and stopping his movements".

"Yes, sir" Rocky adopted a fighting stance.

"He´s sure he´s going to win", Colt concluded and prepared himself, trying not to focus on that girl with long, black hair combed in a mermaid braid, nor in her brown sugar flesh or her white blouse with embroidered flowers. But of course, he couldn´t ignore her. He realized how much he wanted to win this fight.

"Tum Tum!" Grandpa yelled.

"Sir!"

"Open your eyes, boy. Look as closely as you may".

"Yes, sir!"

"Now, go!" Grandpa yelled.

As soon as Grandpa´s voice fade out, Colt yelled a loud "Hiya!" and jumped in a front somersault, startling Rocky and everyone else. Rocky raised his arms to protect his face and torso but Colt, who had already foreseen this, descended to ground level and threw a round kick towards Rocky´s ankles, not to hurt him but to make him lose his balance. Rocky stumbled aside but instead of trying not to fall, he let himself roll over the floor to get out of Colt´s reach and stood up with one jump. But Colt was already attacking him, using dangerous combinations of punches and kicks with such speed and energy, Rocky didn't seem able to do anything else but to defeat. However, Colt noticed his brother was not going backwards at all, in fact, he seemed to be more calmed, he even took a couple of steps forward. Colt realized ―with a growing sense of frustration―, when he blocked Rocky´s first punch, that he was now under his brother´s reach so he threw himself aside to gain some distance but didn´t go that far. Rocky took advantage of his brother´s impulse to break his defense and punch him on the chest.

"Damn!" Colt gritted his teeth and took the hit and answered with a fast counterattack. Rocky defeated his first two punches but received a kick on his ribs and another on his kidneys. By the strength of both kicks, he could say Colt was getting angry. "Hey, Colt! Chill!" Rocky yelled while he ducked to avoid another one to the head. Then, he grabbed Colt´s leg before he could retreat and pushed it to make his brother lose his balance. It worked. Colt fell on his back but immediately rolled aside and stood up with another combination of quick punches and kicks. Rocky got hit on the jaw and on his stomach before throwing a kick to his brother´s ribs. With a sharp pain on his side, Colt grunted and retreated, pressing his ribs with one hand.

"I´m sorry!" Rocky yelled but Colt answered with a fierce look and recovered his fighting stance.

"Stop!" Grandpa yelled.

Rocky and Colt blinked, forgetting by one second they had been fighting in front of an audience. As a matter of fact, they both discovered they were panting; his muscles, tense and warm. Colt remembered Grandpa had asked them to fight until they could find a true winner… "No way", he thought.

"Grandpa!" He said, eyes still on Rocky, "I´m fine. I can go on". He refused to accept he had lost already.

Rocky didn´t say anything but looked at Grandpa, asking him for mercy. He was obviously scared of hurting his brother for real. He hadn´t healed yet! That was just not fair! He knew Colt, his younger brother wouldn´t give up even if he broke his leg! He was so stubborn! Rocky never questioned Grandpa´s orders but, if he demanded them to keep fighting, he would surrender.

"You!" Grandpa addressed Rocky and Colt, "catch your breath".

Reluctantly, Colt lost his stance; Rocky had done it first, obviously relieved. They faced each other and bowed, to thank themselves for the training. Even with Colt´s heart still beating violently. Then, they turned to face their audience for the first time. Kevin, Emily and Jo were open-mouthed; girls with fear, Kevin with awe. Colt raised his eyebrow, aware that his friend had been recording the fight with his cell phone. He didn´t look at Jo directly, he just couldn´t. Unlike Emily, Jo had seen them three fighting before… and in a completely different situation. Their opponents had been so clumsy, back then! Colt had to admit he and his brothers (Colt always refused to say "My brothers and I") had been a little too cocky. They had been showing off. He remembered that fight in that pizza restaurant… people ended up cheering and clapping! Now, he wasn´t sure if he had filled Jo´s expectative. On the other hand, Emily looked so into Rocky, Colt wouldn´t be surprised if she finally asked him on a date. Apparently, big brother had given her a good impression.

"Tum Tum!" Grandpa´s voice sounded like a thunder.

"Sir!" Tum Tum pressed his arms against his sides.

"What can you tell me about this battle?"

Everyone, especially Rocky and Colt, turned to look at him. Tum Tum shifted his weight from one foot to another. What did Grandpa expect him to see? He knew his brothers´ ninja profile and, truth to be told, he didn´t find anything different on that. Maybe Colt was angrier and a little bit slower because of his wounds; Rocky had been less offensive than usual, maybe because he didn´t want to hurt Colt. But neither of those observations seemed that relevant to him. "Well… I…" he opened his mouth and shut it again, not sure of what to say. However, Grandpa nodded, just as he could read his mind.

"Tum Tum, according to what you just saw, I want you to tell me how would you fight Rocky and Colt to make sure you win this battle."

WHAT? Tum Tum shook his head. What was this all about? Grandpa knew he_ wouldn´t_ win that battle. Tum Tum looked everyone, begging for a clue but everyone´s eyes were on him. He forced himself to think. Putting his modesty aside, he knew he was a good fighter. After all, he could take care of himself; he had done it since he was a little kid. Like when he fought those ninjas on the ship. But, when it came to Rocky and Colt… his brother were just too good. Tum Tum´s strength was obviously inferior than Rocky´s; just as his speed if he compared himself with Colt. He clenched his fists, this was so frustrating! It´s not like his brothers wouldn´t expect that from him…

Something seemed to lit on his mind. He opened his mouth but his Grandpa raised one hand and said: "Don´t tell me. Just show me". And he gestured towards Rocky and Colt. "Now, pick your opponent".

Tum Tum looked them both. "I choose Rocky".

"Fine", Grandpa said with an accomplice smile. "Colt, sit down and watch".

"Yes, sir". Colt retreated, full of curiosity. He wondered what Tum Tum would do and why he had chosen Rocky instead of him. Tum Tum was fast but even Rocky was faster and his punches… well, he guessed he´d better open his eyes.

Rocky and Tum Tum faced each other and bowed, then prepared a fighting stance.

"Go!" Grandpa yelled.

Rocky was ready to defeat, waiting for Tum Tum to attack first. They circled each other… then Tum Tum threw him a punch. Rocky used his forearm to block it and, as soon as their arms clashed, Tum Tum grunted and doubled over his tummy, grabbing his forearm close to his chest.

"Oh! Tum Tum, I´m sorry" but Rocky received a startling kick on his guts that threw him backwards.

"Stop!" Grandpa yelled.

Now, it was Colt the one with his jaw wide opened. In a couple of seconds, Tum Tum had managed to take advantage of Rocky, ROCKY! who was now with eyes wide opened and a bewildered expression, rubbing his belly. Meanwhile, Grandpa was laughing light-heartedly.

"Well done, my little one!" he said.

Tum Tum bowed, a proud smile on his face. In contrast, Rocky´s expression changed from confusion to indignity.

"Grandpa" he said, "why did you stop the fight that soon?"

_Now you know how it feels, _Colt thought.

"Because I saw enough, Rocky. And Tum Tum won round one".

"But…"

"Attention!"

"Sir!" The three ninjas stood on a line, one beside another.

"Before asking you what this test was about, I´d like Tum Tum to explain us his strategy". Mori nodded to his younger grandson.

"Yes, sir! Well…" Tum Tum looked Rocky, who was standing next to Colt. Rocky watched Tum Tum as well, his gaze full of resentment. Tum Tum lifted his chin, "I… I knew I wouldn´t win Rocky unless he was drunk or I were stronger, which I´m not... not yet…"

"Drunk? I don´t even drink, Tum Tum!"

"Oh, someone´s a little bit angry today…"

"Shut up, Colt!"

"You shut up!"

"Boys!"

"Sorry, Grandpa", Rocky and Colt lowered their looks.

"Please go on, Tum Tum", Grandpa said.

"Yeah…like I said, with my actual strength and speed, it´s almost impossible for me to defeat Rocky or Colt. I know it and I also know they know, you know what I mean?"

Colt rolled his eyes. "Tum Tum, you seriously need to improve your vocabulary!".

"Colt!"

"Sorry, Grandpa".

"So…" Tum Tum continued after scowling at Colt, "I had an idea, if Rocky and Colt didn´t consider me as a dangerous dude, they wouldn´t fight their best against me. In other words, it´s like fighting with a five year old, you don´t even get nervous because you actually believe there´s nothing he can do to hurt you, not for real. So I decided to play that role".

Grandpa nodded. "Why did you choose Rocky?"

"Because Rocky´s more careful than Colt".

Colt snorted.

"I suspected that, if Rocky thought he had actually hurt me, he´d let his guard down and then, I could break his defense".

"Cheater!" Rocky mumbled.

Then, Grandpa gave Rocky a light slap. The three ninjas jumped in their place, startled. Emily covered his mouth with her hands, Jo breathed in. Rocky stayed there, with a vacuum on his stomach and feeling like someone had just bathed him in frozen water. Actually, Grandpa had not hurt him at all, he had just clapped his cheek to get his attention, nevertheless, Rocky felt like a misbehaving child who has just been punished. He lowered his gaze, a knot growing in his throat, but Grandpa placed one hand on his shoulder and spoke as gently as he usually did: "If you let your pride get in your way, you won´t be able to learn, son. Above it all, a ninja has to be humble and brave enough to learn from his mistakes so he won´t trip with the same stone again".

"Yes, Sir". Rocky replied, embarrassed, but raised his face again. "And I´m sorry, Tum Tum".

"Don´t mention it", Tum Tum said.

"What Tum Tum did…" Grandpa continued explaining, "was to take advantage of your own prejudice towards him. You considered him weaker so he acted weaker, and then he used a surprise element. He tricked you and used your confidence against yourself. That´s what I need you to do. This time, I want you to rely not in your strengths but in your weaknesses".

The three ninjas looked at themselves, obviously confused.

"Here, let me show you what I mean. Colt, fight with me".

"Yes, sir!"

"I´ll fight you for real so, try to leave me out of combat. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!"

Colt swallowed and prepared his stance. Grandpa moved towards him but didn´t attack. Colt watched him and circled him, nervous and excited at the same time. Fighting Grandpa was always a challenge; they had never won against him, not once. But, Colt trusted in his own outstanding reflexes and speed so he decided to take the offensive. Like a thunder, he moved forward with a powerful kick and a loud "Hiya!" Grandpa may be older but he was agile as a tiger. He blocked every punch from his grandson barely going backward. Then, after defeating two punches, he threw one single punch that landed hard and direct on Colt´s stomach. Colt gasped and doubled over, the air of his lungs violently expelled, bright lights exploding behind his eyelids. He placed one knee on the ground, unable to keep fighting. Grandpa patted him lightly on his upper back.

"It´s okay, it hurts but you have to breathe in until you feel the air flowing again".

"Grandpa!" Tum Tum complained. "You didn´t have to knock him that hard!"

"I´m afraid I had to, my little one. See, that´s what I was talking about. Are you better, now?" he addressed Colt, who managed to stand up again, a little pale. "Colt…"

"Sir" he answered with a hoarse and low voice, still catching his breath.

"Your speed and agility are outstanding. Your aggressive and explosive when it comes to fighting. Most of your opponents won´t even be able to follow your movements. That´s your main strength but, as the other side of the coin, whenever you take the offensive it gets harder to observe your opponent´s technique. If your opponent is someone like Rocky, capable to endure your attacks, he might find a moment, a second during the transition from one kick to another, when you´ll have to lower your defense… the best time for a counterattack. I used one single punch and I left you out of combat. It could have been a stab, a fatal wound that would kill you. That´s what you have to improve: not your speed but your defense, such as the control of your emotions".

"Yes, sir", Colt bowed, respectfully.

"Rocky".

"Sir!"

"What do you think you have to work with?"

Rocky considered it before answering. "I´m not sure, Sir".

"What do you mean", Grandpa asked.

"The obvious answer would be my speed. If I compare myself with Colt, I´m slower but I don´t think that makes me a slow fighter at all".

Grandpa nodded. "You´re right, you´re fast as well".

"So…" Rocky continued, his eyebrows almost together in a frown that showed concentration, "I guess I'm a little lost in here". He sighed.

Grandpa laughed. "It´s okay, Rocky! That means you´re in the right path. Your fighting style is quite flawless: you´re amazingly strong, you´re fast, you´re flexible and you manage to observe and study your opponent in a couple of seconds. You´re pretty much the one who controls the situation first. Your weakness is not physical at all. In fact, it´s related to your biggest strength…"

"His ability to keep his mind cool" Colt added.

Grandpa nodded. "Very well, Colt. As a natural leader, you know how to deal with the pressure, you´re a skilled strategist but, what would happen if someone could upset you so much you wouldn´t be able to think clearly?"

"I´d be done", Rocky said.

"Exactly. You must learn how to rely in others, to let yourself lose the leadership sometimes. Share your burden and trust, trust for real".

"Yes, sir". Rocky lowered his gaze again, not for shame but because he needed to think it over. He had never realized how much he needed to feel himself in control. Playing a leader was just so natural for him. Even Colt, with his stubbornness and rebelliousness, followed him.

"And boys…"

"Sir!" Colt and Tum Tum replied.

"You must learn to lead, too".

"Yes, sir".

"Tum Tum…"

"Sir!"

"As you showed before, surprise is the ace up your sleeve. People expect you to be weaker, let them think that way… but don´t hesitate. The surprise element must be accurate and fast".

"Yes, sir!"

The boys trained taking their mind and body to the limit. Even Kevin, Jo and Emily kept silence and watched with a solemn silence, quite aware they were not watching a show but a training that could save someone´s life. They got up long before the sun raised and went back from school as soon as their classes were over. Their muscles burned like hell and, sometimes, they had been on the verge of falling asleep during their classes. But somehow, their senses sharpened as soon as their training began. They practiced for hours.

On the third night, Colt heard Rocky throwing himself on his bed, totally worn out. Tum Tum had fallen asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow. But Colt stayed awake, watching at the ceiling from his bunk bed.

"Hey, Rocky"

Rocky grunted. "We better sleep if we want to have some energy tomorrow. We must be training in five hours, remember?"

Colt laughed. "I heard Grandpa bought us some energetic bars. And we can always drink coffee with a lot of sugar".

"I´m serious, Colt, we need to rest".

"Okay, just let me tell you something. I´ll be quick!"

"You always are" Rocky smiled, he was lying on his bed, his eyes closed. "What is it?"

"I think we´re really improving with these intensive trainings, you know? But there´s something that still worries me".

"What is it?"

"No matter how hard we push each other, we´d never hurt ourselves for real, right?"

Rocky opened one eye. "What´s your point?"

Colt sat on his bed. "My point is we´ll be facing those assassins in four days, right? And we know for sure they´ll pretty damned well trained and that they want to tear us for real. We´re fighting for our life, Rocky!"

Rocky opened his eyes. "That´s what this training is all about, Colt. That´s why we´re pushing ourselves…"

"That´s what I´m trying to say!" Colt jumped from his bunk bed to the floor. "I don´t think we´re pushing enough! Because, whenever we fight each other or Grandpa, we all know our life is not in danger. We´re not fighting for our lives so that´s our limit".

Rocky sat on his bed, rubbing his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"When those bastards ambushed me…" Colt was pacing all over the room, he licked his lips, "I panicked. I thought I was going to die, Rocky! And, instead of fighting better than ever, I almost paralyzed".

"Colt, there´s nothing to be ashamed…"

"It´s not that! God! Don´t you see? Grandpa told us to work with our weaknesses, right? Well, until we fight against someone who is actually willing to harm us we´ll be physically and mentally disadvantaged. We don´t know how many times those ninjas had fought for their life and won".

Rocky thought about it, now fully awake. Colt had a point. Despite the new bruises and the aching muscles, he knew they were safe with Grandpa. In certain way, they had always been. Snyder´s ninjas, those ruffians who attacked Jo´s people, none of them had tried to kill them. They may have tried to hurt them but not murder them. "Well, unless you´re willing to use your weapons against us there´s nothing we can do about it".

"There is one thing…"

Rocky looked at Colt.

"It´ll sound crazy but… there´s someone who could help us with this. I´m pretty sure he´ll want to tear us in pieces and fights as good as Grandpa".

Rocky was about to ask but then an image appeared in his mind. He opened his mouth but said nothing.

Colt nodded. "I think it´s time to pay Snyder a visit".


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The meeting**

Grandpa looked at his surroundings, apprehensive. The painting of the walls, once white, was yellowish and had flaked off some spots. Light shone above his head, cold and bright like the lamp you see when you open your eyes after a surgery; a light that reminds you you´re still alive but also that you´re not healthy enough to get out. That´s what Grandpa felt inside of the prison: illness and despair. And, by the look of the woman and the old man sitting beside him, he was not the only one. He rubbed his wet palms on his thighs, the _tic tac_ of a clock drumming in his ears. Suddenly, he felt out of place and the plan seemed absurd and nonsense. He breathed in, eager to regain control. Of course, he would be nervous… nervous? He was terrified! He hadn´t seen Snyder since their fight, that night of the kidnap. They were not in good terms. In fact, they had been trying to kill each other, because he thought, for a moment, he´d had to kill his old pupil in order to get out of there with his family. And yet, it was not _that_ Snyder, the weapon dealer, the one he feared. No. It was the _old_ Snyder, the child he loved, the one he couldn´t face anymore, not without feeling his whole world collapse.

The child he hadn´t been able to save. The one that had walked away.

Despite it all, he smiled. Among other things, his grandsons were persuasive enough to make him reconsider a plan he had rejected as soon as it came out of Rocky´s lips…

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!"

Rocky sighed. Grandpa´s face was flustered, his eyes cold as steel. His anger seemed to fill all the space inside Douglas living, which seemed smaller now. Tum Tum was sitting with his back still on the sofa, twisting his fingers and chewing the empty stick of a lollipop. Colt was on his feet, facing Grandpa, a stubborn wrinkle had appeared among his eyebrows. Rocky had seen that same gesture a million times before, most of the times during a discussion with Dad. When Colt wanted something, he just didn´t let it go. Like an untamable young horse… if Rocky hadn´t been that nervous, he would have laughed and patted Colt in the back. It was good to rely on his stubbornness sometimes, in order to fight for a nonsense plan.

"Why not?" Colt demanded, "It´s not like we have a better option, Grandpa!"

"You think that´s a good plan?" Grandpa looked daggers at Colt, "It´s Snyder, for God´s sake! The same man who threatened my family, attempted to murder his old sensei… and friend! And you want to ask him for help? Are you fool enough to trust him?"

"Oh, come on!" Colt snorted, gesturing with his hands, "You´re not even listening to our reasons!"

_He can´t, _Rocky realized. Since he wasn´t as impulsive as Colt nor on the verge of a nervous breakdown like Tum Tum, he had been able to observe the scene with a colder mind, and he was quite certain it wasn´t only anger or disbelief what was underneath Grandpa´s voice. It was something else, it sounded like… pain? Of course it was pain! More than angry, Grandpa was hurt! More than a friend, Snyder had been his pupil; like a son. If he had taken care of him like he did with his brothers and himself, his betrayal must have felt like those wounds that never heal.

Until now, Rocky had never wondered what his own mother felt about Snyder. If Grandpa had raised him as another child, they would have been like brother and sister. And Snyder had never threatened his mom, well, not directly. Would he care about her? Rocky shook his head, forcing his thoughts to move away from that direction. He wasn´t ready to accept Snyder as someone you could actually love. It was easier to consider him a cruel, insensitive criminal. But it was too late, somehow, Rocky had seen beyond Grandpa´s rage.

He had raised Snyder to become a better man; taught him martial arts to give him the possibility to stand up by himself and for others. That´s what a true ninja was: a protector, a guardian, not a tyrant. Yet, Snyder had betrayed him in his lust for power, stabbing him on the back. He wondered if Snyder had ever believed in Grandpa´s purpose or if he would ever regret about what happened that night Grandpa told them about. If they could go back in time, would they act the same? Thinking about _breaking ninjas…_

He was so lost in thought, he didn´t realized everyone was staring at him until Tum Tum cleared his throat to call his attention.

"Hum… you were saying?"

"Do you agree with all this… madness?" Grandpa´s nostrils flared, or would if that was humanly possible. Rocky exchanged a look with his brothers. So, apparently he had the final word: again, everyone expected him to be a reasonable leader. Well, maybe this was the perfect time to delegate some responsibilities.

"It´s insane, I know… but I´m with Colt".

Colt lowered his head, trying to hide a proud smile. If Rocky didn´t know him, he´d say he was blushing. Good. Sometimes, Colt seemed to lift walls around himself just to keep everyone out. He was such a misunderstood! Well, not this time.

"A ninja shall not underestimate his opponent". Rocky decided to use what he had learned from Grandpa along these years. "And, if his opponent is better than him, he shall be prepared. This time, we´re not prepared, Grandpa. Not enough. We´re good fighters but these ninjas may be better, and they won´t fight fair. Trust us, we don´t wish to meet Snyder more than you do but he´s our best option since he´s the closest person who may fight better than us and may be willing to hurt us for real. We have to learn how to work with such adrenaline and use it on our favor. Otherwise it´ll turn against us. Look what happened to Colt, being hurt blurred his mind".

Colt scowled but relaxed almost instantly as a sign of humility.

Grandpa sighed, his expression softened a little. "You will do it with or without me, will you not?"

The decision was taken but none of the boys answered right away. Then, Colt nodded shyly. Grandpa walked to the kitchen without saying a word. The boys exchanged looks. Like a mirror, they all seemed equally bewildered. Grandpa came back with a glass full of sake, which made Tum Tum´s jaw fall to the ground.

"Is that…?"

"Patience and resignation" Grandpa answered before draining it. "Like I said, never fight unless you can win. And I obviously won´t win against you three, not on this". He sat on the couch, apparently exhausted, facing his pupils. He shook his head, they were so damn stubborn… like himself. Like Snyder. He swallowed even when his throat felt totally dry, refusing to go back to the past, to the questions with no answer. _They are not him_, he repeated to himself. "So, what´s your plan? Because, I assume, you have talked this over long before you told me a word, have you not?"

Despite his own caution, Grandpa had to admit it was a good plan… which didn´t mean it would be easy to get it done. It consisted on visiting Snyder in jail, getting a free pass from his son-in-law to spend time with him and, in Colt´s words, "kicking his ass not to let him kick theirs".

"And how in the world will you get a free pass from your father?" Grandpa raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we tell him Snyder shall know his aggressors' identity and convince him you´ll the best man to interrogate him", Rocky affirmed with more conviction than he felt.

"And if that doesn´t work, we break in!" Colt exclaimed.

"We break in a Federal prison?" Rocky raised his eyebrow.

"We escaped from a cell guarded for ninjas before we entered to junior high", Colt shrugged.

Grandpa sighed. It seemed as an impossible plan but it wasn´t that bad. So he called Samuel and Jessica after another two hours argument about the convenience of _omitting _half of the truth.

"It´s not lying, Grandpa!" Colt argued, "it´s just not telling them everything".

Grandpa didn´t tell them about Colt´s and Tum Tum´s attack. Nor about the deadline He didn´t use to lie but this time, telling them the truth would have meant to be guarded by a bunch of FBI cops who would make the breakers attack whenever and wherever. At least now they knew they´d be safe for another couple of days. Of course, he didn´t mention the fact that the kids wanted to fight with Snyder. He had agreed to go by himself.

A sense of guiltiness grew in Grandpa´s guts when something rang and a door opened from a corner, behind the armored glass that separated the visitors from the prisoners. His whole body froze. A tall, slender man with shoulder-length black hair walked towards him. If he was surprised to see Mori, he didn´t show. In fact, more than bewildered, he seemed impatient. He sat in front on him and watched the old ninja like he´d watch a poisonous bug he wanted to smash. His face was thinner, his cheekbones stood out. In contrast, he seemed rougher and more dangerous than before. Grandpa noticed the tight muscles of his arms and the ones hidden beneath his orange overall. After that silence, Snyder smiled showing a white set of teeth, grabbed the auricular next to his head and placed it over his ear. Mori reached his own auricular and put in on his ear as well, ignoring the violent beating of his heart.

"It´s been a long time, old man" Snyder spoke, his voice sounded deeper than before. But his face…

Mori squinted. Something was wrong. He had expected to find hatred and fury behind his gaze but certainly not that. Snyder seemed… amused? No. He acted amused but there was something else, something like… fear? It couldn´t be… unless…

Snyder nodded, as he had read his thoughts. "Yes, old man. Your family is not the only one who´s been threatened. The breakers are coming for me too".


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Well, I definitely didn´t see that coming" Rocky whistled after Grandpa told them about his meeting with Snyder.

Grandpa grabbed his cup of tea, he was shivering. If watching his old pupil (lately, he couldn´t think of him like his enemy) was quite unnerving already, to know he was actually scared of being murdered because of an old revenge was too much for a man like Mori, who didn´t know how to hate for good. Truth to be told, Hugo didn´t deserve anyone´s sympathy. He was treacherous, selfish, cruel, blood-thirsty… yet, Mori felt uneasy. Suddenly, prison didn´t seem like the safest place in the world. He growled. His grandsons looked at him inquisitively. Mori didn´t explain himself. He didn´t have to. Somehow, his boys seemed to understand. And sometimes, he wondered if life would be easier (or less complicated) for a man like Snyder: you take what you want, show no remorse and you keep living your life…

«Well, he´ll never know what it´s like to belong to a family», he thought, trying to console himself but turned furious instead. Why would he even bother? «Because he could have chosen to belong to your family». And yet, he had gone to the _dark side _as Tum Tum used to say. That was Grandpa´s biggest fear: to raise another man like Hugo…because, he had raised him after all. He watched his boys with an eye that saw beyond their youth, where the past and the bet of the future collided. Certainly, his grandsons were kind and brave. Jessica and his son-in-law, Samuel, had done an excellent job with them. Unlike Snyder, they actually cared about others and used their strength to stand up for those who couldn´t (or wouldn´t) stand up for themselves. Yet…

Men were not all about light or darkness. No. He didn´t believe in _all white, all black_, he believed in choices and in shades. Men were made of shades, they had several colors, several masks. Men was chaotic and unpredictable. Even his grandsons had their shadows. And, if someone knew how to get there, that was Snyder.

Mori thought about their conversation. Surprisingly, Snyder had offered to train the boys even before Mori spoke a word.

"Did the mice eat your tongue, old man?" Snyder sneered.

Mori´s hold his gaze. "Why would I let you do that?" He knew he was pushing too much since that was actually their plan. However, he didn´t want to accept before knowing his old partner´s intentions.

Mori jumped in his seat. Snyder had knocked the crystal between them with such strength, it quivered. A guard approached to him, but stopped when the man with the long hair raised both hands to show his tantrum was over. Snyder didn´t lose his temper that often, not even when he was a student. «He´s really scared», Mori confirmed.

"I just received a letter from an old friend of us", Snyder spoke through the auricular.

"From Yahiko?"

Snyder nodded. "His manager, I guess. Anyway, it seems someone´s willing to avenge that bastard in one week and I don´t trust these incompetents to guard this place. And the only ones who might have a little chance to face those killers are you and those wimpy kids. Irony aside, my future relies on you now".

"Why would we help you?"

Snyder leaned forward, like a cobra. "Why would you be here otherwise?"

Getting the kids inside the prison was more than an odyssey. Since the kids realized there was no way to get a free pass inside an international security prison, they agreed on sharing their plan with their Dad, except for the fact they could all be dead in three days.

"We´ll just talk to him, Dad!" Rocky raised his voice louder than usual. It was about the tenth time he repeated that phrase. "If Snyder knows who these guys are…"

"Then the police officers, who are the professional ones, will do a proper interrogation, Samuel".

"Give me the phone!" Colt gestured to Rocky, losing his patient. Rocky turned around, not to see his brother about to explode.

"He won´t say a word. He… he told Grandpa. He wants to talk to a true ninja. And he wants us to be present". Rocky said with a confidence he didn´t feel. He had practiced his speech, yet, it sounded hollow and fake to his ears.

"I´ll be out in a couple of days, maybe I can…"

"Dad!" Colt grabbed the phone from Rocky´s hands. Rocky tried to get it back but Colt dodged him and walked away.

"Is that you, Jeffrey?"

"No".

Samuel kept silent, obviously confused.

"It´s Colt!"

Rocky rolled his eyes and, he was sure, so did Dad.

"Sorry, Colt. Please, don´t try to convince me to do something crazy like…"

"Listen to me, Dad", Colt interrupted, "I know I´m not the best one to ask you…"

"Don´t say that. You can ask me anything, son".

"I know we´ve had our differences before and I know you don´t trust anyone´s judgment more than you trust Rocky´s…"

"Jeff…I mean, Colt…"

"No! Listen to me, Dad. I don´t blame you. Actually, I understand. Somehow, we all do the same, right? We always listen to Rocky because he knows his stuff". Rocky blushed, he didn´t know how to act. "And right now he thinks we´re the best chance to catch the bastards that put you in a hospital".

Colt said these last words with so much hatred that everyone on the room felt chills, and so did Samuel Douglas. He was not following the plan, which relied on Rocky´s ability to persuade others. Samuel cleared his throat.

"Don´t swear, Colt".

Colt smiled. "I´m not swearing, I´m describing".

"Don´t play the smart guy with me, young man". Even when Samuel said that with a severe tone, Colt pictured him smiling from the other side of the line. Then, Samuel sighed. "Five seconds, you have five seconds to explain yourself".

Colt looked at Rocky, questioningly. Well, he had caught his attention; now, everything depended on the words. Colt was not exactly a man of words, he barely thought before doing anything. Somehow, Rocky had always been the voice of his own conscience. Should he give him the phone back? But Rocky nodded, his blue eyes full of confidence. Colt breathed in, fighting his nerves. He spoke with a controlled voice, he didn´t want to let anyone down.

"Despite it all, Snyder is a ninja in his heart. You may not understand it, Dad, since you don´t support ninjitsu that much but we do understand because, somehow, we´re true ninjas too. Not evil like him, of course but… what I´m trying to say is that if Grandpa thinks Snyder will only talk to us it´s because that´s the way it will be. And if we can help to stop those criminal, shouldn´t we assume that responsibility?"

"Son…" Colt felt something strange on his father´s voice. Something like pride. "Do you realize you´re asking to meet the man that kidnapped you? How can I protect you, while I´m lying on this bed?"

Colt swallowed. Suddenly, Dad sounded as an older man: tired, afraid, discouraged, defeated; just as himself after realizing he wouldn´t be able to face those ninjas. His dad was a coup, he lived to help people by fighting the villains. Dad, as Grandpa, was a hero.

"And how can we protect our family if you can´t trust us?"

_Touché._

Rocky wanted to hug his brother! Of course, he still had enough sense not to do it. Colt´s heart hammered inside his chest. The next minute seemed the longest in his life. Finally, Samuel Douglas sighed and, before he spoke, Colt tasted the flavor of victory.

"If I said no, you´d find a way to break in, wouldn´t you?"

"Why does everyone say something like that?" He exploded, unable to hold that tension anymore.

"Because I know you, and Rocky and Tum Tum". Samuel laughed. They´re more alike to their father than they actually think. I´ll make a few calls…"

"Thanks, Dad!" Colt showed his thumb-up to Rocky.

"Not so fast. If you do something dangerous to yourselves or to others…"

"Oh, c´mon, Dad!"

"I´ll do something I hadn´t done in a very long time".

"And what would that be?"

"Ground you".

As an act of faith, Samuel made those calls. Snyder would spend one hour a day, for the next three days, with Mori and the boys with one condition: they would use the interrogation room and not the yard, as they suggested at first (too wide; Snyder too dangerous) and there would be capable agents on the other side, all the time. Also, Snyder would wear a bracelet that would hit him with a million volts if he tried to escape or to take anyone as a hostage. Of course, everything was supposed to be a secret.

"At least Snyder doesn´t have a Facebook profile".

"It ain´t funny, Colt!" Mori reprimanded him. Colt mumbled a "sorry, grandpa" but laughed under his breath. So did Rocky and Tum Tum.

His father showed more reticence when it came to Tum Tum, but the youngest Douglas expressed so much frustration and indignation, he finally got away with it after promising not to risk himself… that much. Grandpa was driving his old car: just the fact it still worked seemed like another one of the mysteries he kept under his sleeve. None of the boys spoke that much: they shifted in their seats, wiping their wet palms on their thuds; excited rather than scared. Instead of their ninja suits, they were wearing pants and t-shirts: Rocky´s shirt was green; Colt´s, blue; Tum Tum´s, yellow. All of them were wearing black pants and black sweatshirts.

Rocky chuckled his knuckles when Grandpa parked, he had permission to use Douglas´ parking lot.

"What is it, Rocky?" Grandpa asked.

"Uh? Nothing, Grandpa".

Grandpa looked at him. "I know you, son. Something´s troubling your mind".

Rocky swallowed, feeling Colt´s and Tum Tum´s glances. "Well… don´t take me wrong but… Grandpa, are we actually prepared to face Snyder?"

Colt snorted. "Oh, Rocky, come on! Don´t tell us you´re backing up!"

Rocky blushed but held Colt´s gaze. "I assume you think you are but then, I´d bet all I own that you´ve barely considered our real chances since you barely use your brain, right?"

"If you´re that scared you should hide behind the mirror, with the cops" Colt was blushing too.

Tum Tum looked pleadingly at Grandpa. If he wasn´t nervous before, now he was on the verge of suffering a panic attack. But instead of saying anything, Grandpa´s hand flew and grabbed Colt´s collar with such speed and strength, Colt yelped. Rocky threw himself backwards, hitting his back with the car. Tum Tum looked with his eyes wide-opened. Neither of them had seen Grandpa turning around (the boys were sitting in the back seats) and grabbing Colt until he had done it.

"Now that I have your attention…" Grandpa released Colt, who breathed in without realizing he had been holding his breath, "Remember what I said before: this fight is not about your strength, but your weakness. Colt, we know you´re brave and so are your brothers but if you look down on Snyder then you´re not ready to face him nor the Breakers".

Colt´s cheeks, ears and neck were bright red, he lowered his gaze. Grandpa kept talking:

"You are outstanding fighters, not only because of your fighting skills but also because of your strategy and your human values. Unlike most of your age, you´re ready to protect yourselves and others. I´m so proud of you, words are not enough to express myself properly. Therefore, I shall not lie to you. Indeed, Snyder is a remarkable fighter and I don´t think, with your current level, you´d be able to defeat him on a one on one fight".

Boys kept silent.

"He´s more experienced than you, obviously, and he´s also less ethical. He´s savage, merciless, extremely calculator. Honestly, he may be better than me right now. It wasn´t like that before, but I realized it when I fought with him on that ship. If it hadn´t been for Tum Tum´s lucky jellybeans…" Grandpa tussled Tum Tum´s hair, loosening the tension, "I wouldn´t be right here, right now".

"But back then…" Rocky broke his silence, "he cheated on you, Grandpa. You were winning".

Grandpa denied with his head. "Not exactly, Rocky. You see, "cheating" is an ethical concept. Ethical ninjas do not cheat, but it doesn´t mean you can´t do it".

"It´s a choice." Colt spoke, by his pallor and the quivering on his voice, he was still ashamed. "Doing the right thing is always harder than doing it wrong. It´s more risky".

Grandpa nodded and smiled. "That´s right, Colt. Therefore, boys, you must walk in thinking you may actually lose this fight. If I had been one of those treacherous _pseudo-ninjas _(Tum Tum smiled) and I was holding a knife, you may be dead by now, Colt".

Colt nodded.

"You let your wild spirit free and you lost your mind and, with it, your concentration. You forgot to be alert".

"Yes, sir". Colt raised his chin.

Grandpa smiled. _That_ was his boy.

"So, this time we may face our enemies even if we may be not able to win this fight".

"_Despite of_ knowing you may lose, yes" Grandpa said.

"But, what about never fighting unless you can win?" Tum Tum asked.

Grandpa was still smiling. "Sometimes you´re not the one who picks that fight, Tum Tum. Sometimes you´re forced to do it in order to save your life".

"But if you have no possibilities…" Rocky said.

"I never said that". Grandpa´s eyes shone. "I said you may have fewer possibilities than your opponent. Yet, you still have your honor, your will, your faith, and those, my son, may do the difference. What I want you to do is to open your eyes and learn as much as you can from Snyder. And I want you, us, to win those bastards".

"Yes, sir!" Three boys yelled at once, delighted to hear Grandpa swear in English for once.

They got out of the car and walked to one back door. A police officer was waiting for them, they knew it from before: he was his father´s partner, Neil. His white teeth contrasted with his dark skin.

"Well, it seems the Douglas kids had grown a few inches since our last barbecue".

"You have no idea" Colt answered.

They got inside. And the door closed behind them.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Face to face**

Whereas Tum Tum walked through the prison halls, he remembered one class when he was in junior high: "Working with Daddy". It consisted on visiting Dad in his job and bringing a report to read it aloud, and pictures to share with your classmates. He had liked Christina´s exposition; his father was a chef and she had brought them samples of fruit cake. But when it came to Tum Tum, things got a little complicated: he wasn´t allowed to visit Dad in his job since he was an FBI agent, in fact, he couldn´t even tell he worked for the FBI nor share any details of the criminal he had caught. So everything Tum Tum could show was a badge (not even the FBI credential) and a lot of ambiguous details. He had gotten a B.

And now, about four years later, he finally visited Daddy´s working area. Yet, it was still hard to picture his old man there, surrounded by criminals. Not that they had met a criminal yet, since they were using the officers´ private hallways. But there was definitely something in the air. Even Grandpa and Rocky seemed anxious; not like Colt, who walked as though he was wandering in the mall. But of course, Colt was fearless. Grandpa had said once that a fearless person was someone amazingly brave and equally stupid. Tum Tum had loved and memorized that definition, especially when Grandpa used it to scold Colt after jumping like a chipmunk from one tree to another and fell, not breaking his leg by an inch. Grandpa had told them not to do it, not before a proper training; Colt tried to show he was ready to do that silly task… he had to use a crutch for three weeks.

Tum Tum looked at his older brother with the corner of the eye, wondering if he´d actually think he could match Snyder. He remembered him after the fight with the Breakers, watching Colt physical and mentally beaten had been worse than having him cocking around.

"Here we are" Neil stopped in front of an iron door with a lock. He turned to face the visitors before opening it. By the way he looked at them he should think they were all insane. As he had read Tum Tum´s thoughts, he denied with the head and said. "If I hadn´t been the one who spoke to your father, I would have never believed he asked me to leave you alone with Snyder. He didn´t explain that much but he seems to think you will get something valuable from him, something neither of us has been able to get in all these years".

He spat the last words with a mix of bitterness and irony.

"May I ask what exactly are you looking for?" he looked at Mori.

Colt opened his mouth, offended. Why in the world he didn´t ask them? They were not little kids anymore! But Rocky, aware of his brother´s intentions, touched him on the shoulder, in order to keep his temper under control. Colt breathed in, trying to chill. He wasn´t willing to screw their only chance.

Mori nodded. "You may ask, agent, but I´m afraid I won´t be able to give you that answer. At least not before talking to my son-in-law. What I do can tell you is that we may get a clue from the men who hurt him".

Neil frowned. "The ones who shot Douglas? How are they and Snyder related?"

"They are old enemies. We are. We must prepare ourselves in case they want to attack".

Neil scrutinized them all, only Colt held his gaze, defiantly. He seemed indecisive. Rocky suspected he didn´t know whether to laugh or to send a patrol to their house. After a minute that felt as a piece of eternity, he sighed and smiled. "If I hadn´t seen what happened four years ago and the years after (oh, yeah, Samuel is quite boastful when it comes to his offspring), I would get you in an armored car and send you home arrested. But, more than partners, Sam and I are friends. And if he decided to risk his skin for you, who am I to displease him?" He opened the door.

"Thank you, Neil" Rocky stepped forward but didn´t go that far since Neil had blocked his way.

"Listen, Sam"

"What is it?" Rocky asked.

"This guy…he´s dangerous. Do not think you know everything about him. You have no idea what he has done. We have to take his rubber band away because he almost strangles his cell mate with it. He doesn´t seem intimidated by other criminal or police officers. Douglas asked me to keep an eye on you, yet, not to interfere unless it was necessary. But I must confess I don´t know how to do that".

"I really thank you, we all thank you for your concern. Trust us, Neil, we wouldn´t do this if we didn´t have to. I know it´s hard to understand since we´re not offering further explanations but, trust us, our family may depend on what we may learn from this man".

Colt coughed to conceal a smile. Although Rocky never took his comments very seriously, he was convinced his brother could be an excellent actor. He had a hero attitude and, in moments like this, he felt damn blessed for that. Finally, Neil let them through. They found themselves on the other side of the glass: five officers were observing Snyder, and greeted the kids with a question mark practically drawn on their faces. Rocky supposed neither of them knew more than Neil about this weird petition from his father. Two of the officers were really young, they should be in their mid-twenties. The other ones showed familiar faces: they should work with Dad.

"Well, it seems we have most of the Douglas family", said a mature man with dark eyebrows. "You must be Samuel Jr.".

"Yes, sir" Rocky answered shyly. Colt rolled his eyes again.

"You look a lot like your father when he was your age".

"You knew my father when he was a teenager?" Tum Tum asked, eyes wide open. Colt wanted to shoot himself.

The man with the dark brows nodded. "I was his teacher, or his nightmare as he used to call me, on the Academy. I´m Detective Graham, at your service. These are Officer Jenna and Smith".

A woman, taller and wider than any of them, nodded. Colt asked himself why couldn´t she look like those stunning ladies from Criminal Minds. Well, in her favor, she seemed able to knock you out from one single hit. The other guy was brunet and smiling; not impressive at all. But, if Dad had chosen them, he must have had his reasons.

"You must be the middle child", Detective Graham continued, "You´re not that alike…"

"I´ve always suspected I´m adopted", Colt answered laconically, as a reflex.

And also, as a reflex, Rocky snapped him on the back of his head. Taken by surprise, Colt startled but wasn´t able to respond. The police officers laughed, losing some of the tension. The only one who remained deadly serious was Grandpa. His gaze was beyond them, focused on the man behind the fake mirror: Snyder. Despite how many times they had pictured him, neither of the boys seemed prepared to face him for real: his black hair fell straight on both sides of his face, tanned even if he didn´t spend that much time under the sun; even sitting, his body looked athletic and every single nerve seemed visible through the flesh of his arms and hands. Snyder had been allowed to wear, as the kids, pants and T-shirts, red, both of them. As if he could sense them, he was looking straight to the mirror, piercing it with cold eyes, his lips curved into a sneer.

"Douglas asked us to let you… practice with him, is that right?" Detective Graham asked to no one in particular.

"That´s correct", Grandpa answered for the first time.

Neil shook his head. "I should enter with you."

"Please don´t". Mori said, humble but severe. "Ninjitsu is not only a bunch of punches and kicks but a philosophy, a code. We need to communicate with Snyder in the only way we know…"

"Japanese?" Neil raised an eyebrow.

"Fighting" Mori smiled.

The door of the interrogation room opened. A white light shone from the ceiling. Neil decided to walk in, "just to set things right", as he had said. Snyder didn´t stand up but sneered instead.

"Good morning, officer". He dragged the last word, as already bored by the sound of it. However, his eyes pierced through him, focused on the old man standing behind Neil.

Rocky saw the tension on Grandpa´s shoulders, an unusual stiffness on the way he moved; his body had recognized a predator and was ready to run away or fight. Rocky himself felt a sudden rush of adrenaline he could barely contain, his heart raced, his lungs claimed for air. He thought his memories were not that accurate after all, last time he´d seen Snyder he was wearing a weird brilliant ninja gi and was lying on the floor. Today, he looked more dangerous than ever.

"Rocky, let me in!" Colt pushed him aside, stepping forward, closely followed by Tum Tum. Colt looked quite alert; Tum Tum, slightly terrified.

After watching them all with a mix of hunger and disdain, Snyder stood up with both hands raised, palms opened. Neil´s expression hardened, obviously aware of the mock on that gesture.

"I´ll keep my hands were you can see them, officer" Snyder smiled and then, laughed under his breath. He also looked at the fake mirror.

"Hugo Snyder, because of a unique situation…" Neil began.

"Time´s running, isn´t it, officer?" Snyder cut him in the middle of the sentence. "We have job to do so, I suggest you to go back with your friends, to the safety behind that wall".

Rocky froze under Snyder´s gaze, feeling the hair on the back of his head standing on end. Suddenly, their plan seemed dangerously flawed. Neil didn´t move. Grandpa did; he was so fast, Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum barely followed the flying object that came out of his hand. Not even a yell came out of their throats. Something shone and flew right towards Snyder´s neck. With a remarkable speed, Snyder threw himself aside but managed to catch the object in his left palm; his face hardened, his eyes shone with a sparkle full of surprise and indignation. Then, before Neil got out his weapon, totally bewildered, Snyder relaxed his posture.

"You haven´t aged that much, old man" Snyder opened his palm, ignoring Neil´s gun, that pointed him and Mori, alternatively. He was holding a black rubber band with a silver end.

"Detective Neil, I´ll remind you your promise. Go back, watch us but don´t interfere".

"Listen!" Neil´s voice rang sharp and angry, "don´t you ever do that again, I almost shoot you!"

Colt raised his chin and stepped forward but Rocky held him back, an arm on his chest. Tum Tum looked at everyone with his eyes almost out of his sockets.

"Lucky me you didn´t" Mori answered and walked right towards Snyder, who had tied his hair already, looking more like his old himself.

Colt changed looks with his brothers: so this was Grandpa´s dark version.

"It´s good to confirm you haven´t lost your reflexes, Hugo". Mori and Snyder were so close, they should practically be able to feel each other´s breathing. Despite his height, Mori didn´t seem less lethal than his opponent. Neither of the boys felt able to move without their sensei´s permission, so they stood, frozen but ready to jump. The air seemed heavier now; their blood, a rush of electricity.

"Agent…" Mori insisted.

"I´ll be on the other side" Neil whispered Rocky whom he evidently considered the most reasonable one.

"Thank you, Neil" Rocky answered without looking back.

The door closed behind them.

"Time to play", Snyder´s voice was barely a whisper, but his words felt like a knock


End file.
